And so, Hiratsuka Shizuka
by Williambillhuggins
Summary: The story follows Hiratsuka Shizuka while she tries to find the missing piece in her life at the same time trying to hand out much needed advice to the troubled teenagers around her.
1. Chapter 1

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make money publishing this story.

* * *

Valentines day.

I could mimic what that dead fish eyed student of mine probably thought, and come up with a cynical argument along the lines of how valentines day was a commercial trap designed by companies to sell their products to the normal fags who are too busy with naive misconceptions about love or friendship to notice that they are being robbed.

Or i could give in to the bitterness inside me that has grown exponentially over the years thanks to many relationships that ended in disaster or in disappointment, and call it an unwarranted holiday designed for so called happy couples to flaunt their relationship.

Yet deep inside, rational adult within me had to admit even though negative judgments we gave had a grain of truth in them, i could remember the joy of giving chocolates to a friend or a lover on valentines day and the joy of receiving returns on white day.

That is why this year i went out of my way and distributed some expensive obligatory chocolate among the teachers of Sobu, content smiles on the faces of older male teachers were heartwarming while blissful joy mixed with slight embarrassment that adorned the faces of younger male teachers were quite the confidence boost.

I guess it must be a pleasing experience to receive valentines day chocolate from a young colleague, i could only guess though as i was too young to have a younger colleague!

As these useless thoughts were going through my mind while driving my trusty steed back home from some alcohol shopping, three familiar figures grabbed my attention, one dark haired, slouched boy flanked by a slender girl with long black hair and a curvaceous girl with peach coloured hair tied into a bun.

Usually it would only be ever-cheerful Yuigahama who sported an energetic smile while other two would wear either embarrassed or annoyed expressions, but surprisingly today all three of them wore thousand watt smiles as if they couldn't stop their mouths from forming them.

I would normally leave them alone to have their moment, but curiosity overcame me as i wondered what kind of progress they made. Whatever it was, it was earlier than my expectations as i assumed they would still be trying to wrap their heads around whatever Hikigaya requested on the day that he also requested them to help with the Christmas event.

I pulled left on the road and adjusted cars speed to ride along them trying to get their attention but it was futile as they were too deep lost in their cheerful conversation. So i went with the only other option and honked the horn causing all three to jump three feet off the ground.

They turned around and faced towards the car after getting over the surprise of the horn and moved closer to the car still a bit uneasy from the unexpected scare.

"You guys, what are you doing here on this ungodly day" I asked with half amusement and half bitterness in my voice.

"Sensei Yahallo!"

"Good evening Sensei"

Both Yuigahama and Yukinoshita gave appropriate greetings fitting their demeanor. Hikigaya on the other hand seemed annoyed by something and had a sour face and when he finally spoke it was in a chiding voice.

"Sensei did you really have to scare us witless with that horn, you could have tried to get our attention or you could have shouted or something. I have sensitive ears you know."

"From what i can see Hikigaya-kun, you are the only one who is scared witless enough to even forget giving a proper greeting, also i would advise you to keep it to yourself whatever fetish you have with your ears." Yukinoshita teased him with a playful smile.

Hikigaya on the other hand for some reason ignored his usual policy of responding Yukinoshita's banter half heartedly and went heavy on attack with a smirk on his face. "Yeah yeah woman, you were so calm and collected, you wouldn't have fallen on top of me had i not jumped out of the way. Also i do not have an ear fetish, they are just sensitive and i have perfect hearing."

Yukinoshita's cheeks turned pink with colour before Hikigaya reached the mid point of his rebuttal and her gaze has fallen downwards while Yuigahama looking not sure whether she should laugh or worry came to her rescue changing the topic by asking me "Sensei what are you doing driving alone here in valentines day, don't you have anywhere else to be?"

Hearing her words, Hikigaya and Yukinoshita formed stiff expressions filled with dread realising the wrong choice of her wording. They seemed to be bracing themselves for the incoming storm, Yuigahama on the other hand still seemed clueless and still had a cheerful smile.

With gritting teeth i managed to hold my temper as much as i could, if those words had came out of Hikigaya's mouth, he would be knocked on the ground by now becoming the victim of one of my many deadly punching techniques. I couldn't go physical on Yuigahama though, so i went with the best possible punishment i could give: Embarrassment.

"What are you talking about Yuigahama, i am doing what every self respecting single does on Valentines day, alcohol and watching old series. I should ask about what you guys are doing on the other hand, isn't valentines day about couples going on dates? What is with going on a date with three people, are you guys trying to challenge social norms? Even though i admire your courage and desire to be unique, don't you guys think you are trying to scale too high of a wall?"

Yuigahama was flailing her arms in front of her the whole time while i had a sadistic grin on my face. Unexpectedly Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were not flustered, they were both looking at Yuigahama with pitying faces saying"You deserved it."

With a pleading look Yuigahama spoke almost screaming."It is nothing like that sensei, Hikki promised to return a favor to me for buying him a honey bread back then and i asked Yukinon to tag along!"

This information seemed to be new for Yukinoshita for she first had a surprised and after that a relieved look on her face. I originally wondered if they had too big of a progress too fast, but that didn't seem to be the case based on their reactions, but i was still curious so i had to ensnare one of them to spill the beans, or to be more precise one of them that could be forced to do that without being able to pull any defensive maneuvers. Choice was obvious only problem was to compel him without getting the girls suspicious.

"Hikigaya, want me to give you a ride, you know your house is on my way, it wouldn't cost me any time."

The deal with making Hikigaya accept a favor was to play on his lazy side while assuring him that he wasn't bothering the one doing the favor. This was a good opening to put the idea of avoiding train crowd into his mind while reminding him that dropping him wouldn't cost her any extra time.

Before he could answer though, both girls went wide eyed.

"..."

"..."

From the nonchalant look on his face, it was apparent that he was not unfamiliar with this kind of reaction, and he seemed to have an idea to whatever girls were thinking.

Before the atmosphere got more awkward Yukinoshita switched to an indifferent look while Yuigahama put up a defusing smile and asked, "Ah sensei, so you know where Hikki lives, is it close to where you live by any chance?"

"Of course i know where he lives Yuigahama, i am his homeroom teacher and club advisor after all. I know where all three of you live, i can easily access where any student from Sobu lives in a moments notice." With a cheeky grin i added "Besides this will not be the first time i am dropping Hikigaya off after all, his house is located on the general direction of mine."

Again their expressions turned to a surprised one and both gave Hikigaya questioning looks, Hikigaya on the other hand ignored their reactions and gave me an annoyed look.

"Sensei please stop with the teasing, i fear their gazes will tear holes on my clothes. Also i will be taking you up on that offer, after all only thing better than a free commute is a free meal. Food tastes best when you don't pay for it!" After that irrelevant last sentence he gave me an implying look and turned to face the girls.

"Yukinoshita, will you be alright with going home today, you know with that demon woman waiting for you after you ditched her last night."

Yukinoshita hesitated for a second but it did not take long before she replied with a determined look. "I shall be fine Hikigaya-kun, I managed to calm my thoughts over last night, and with the way things are clearer after today, she should not be able to get under my skin that easily."

"Well if you say so, see you later both of you, i will ask Komachi to text you if her exam went well, if not i will be too busy comforting her so do not expect any news in that case." He looked satisfied with Yukinoshita's answer and waved them a good bye.

"See you later Hikki, Sensei"

"Good evening to both of you"

With those words they waved their hands.

Even though i was letting two girls go home by themselves while giving Hikigaya a ride, i wanted to act like a responsible teacher as much as i can. "It is getting dark both of you so be careful on your way and don't dally around, pip pip."

Now things were getting more and more interesting, not only did Yukinoshita show almost absolute confidence talking about confronting her sister, she also casually mentioned how things were much more clear, and while i did not have high hopes of convincing Hikigaya to accept the ride with only words, he did not only accept it without any argument he also slyly managed to give the impression that he was hungry.

* * *

I have been driving for about ten minutes while silence reigned between us, i could easily guess the reason Hikigaya so eagerly accepted my offer of driving him home, he seemed to be contemplating how to put his thoughts into words, that was probably why it took him so long to notice that we were not driving towards our supposed destination. After a few minutes of alternating glances between me and the road, he decided to break the silence.

"Sensei, looks like you are taking a detour again, where are we heading to this time?"

"Well after you brat shamelessly implied you were hungry we can't be going anywhere without taking a bite, so we are going to find a nice and cozy place and have a little talk while eating. Any specific place you wanna go?"

After giving it a few seconds of thought, he answered with a defeated voice. "I wonder why Saize jumps into my mind every time i get this question asked, i guess my instincts for maximum efficiency kicks in."

"With that idiotic career choice of yours, it is no wonder your habit of penny pinching kicks in" I teased. "But it is on me this time so lets sit at that cafe, besides i will only be drinking coffee so a regular cafe is a more suitable choice."

After getting inside and sitting at a window side table for two, a cute waitress who looked a few years older than Hikigaya came to take our orders, she was probably an university student working part time, it must be unfortunate to work on valentines day at this hour, but she seemed cheerful enough while taking our orders, so she was either single or were not bothered by the standards of society. I internally approved her attitude and nodded while tapping my foot on the ground.

We sat in silence, Hikigaya working on his meal while i was taking occasional sips off my coffee, when i got assured that Hikigaya got a bit of food on his stomach, i decided it was time to prod him into talking.

"So Hikigaya, talk about the reason for the amount of out of character behaviour you three displayed today, especially you and Yukinoshita."

"Well some stuff happened Sensei" he answered with a reluctant tone.

I wasn't about to let him retreat at this point so i pressed on with a reprimanding tone. "And two plus two equals four, you are not allowed to get cold feet after accepting my invitation Hikigaya, spill the beans."

He gave a defeated sigh and started talking. "We mused with the idea of stagnation, and wondered if it could be the solution to our current problems, but after giving it a thought we decided to reject that idea, instead we came to the conclusion that trying to push each others boundaries and being more open to each others feelings would be more effective choice, albeit a riskier one."

Hearing those words from the lips of a pessimist like Hikigaya was indeed baffling, still it was not enough, i could easily tell he still had more to say so i pressed on. "What else?"

He took a deep breath and continued on. "More importantly, Yukinoshita made us a request, a personal one, she-"

Before he could continue on, i silenced him with a hand movement. "I would not want to hear it without Yukinoshita's permission Hikigaya, knowing the fact that she actually made a personal request is enough."

He seemed surprised and asked me with an interested tone. "Are you sure Sensei, you never had a problem asking about requests that didn't come through you before."

It was about time i started giving the lessons i intended to give today. So with an implying look i spoke. "Hikigaya, do you remember the day a week before Christmas event, when you asked those two to help you with the event after failing to come up with a solution on your own"

His eyes went wide with shock barely managing to form a single word of confirmation. "Y-yes"

I continued on with a monotonous voice. "Yukinoshita came to drop the keys to the club room that evening. She was teary eyed and looked shaken barely able to stand on her feet, at the same time she had a look as if saying she had been waiting for something to happen for so long and it had finally happened."

Shocked expression on his face stuck there, eyes widening with each of my words so i decided to continue. "When i confronted her about what happened, she told me how you requested their help with Christmas event, and also that you had a personal request. I stopped her from saying whatever it is just like i did with you today. Do you know why Hikigaya?"

"I-i haven't the slightest clue S-sensei." He replied with a stuttering voice.

A gentle smile formed on my lips. "You see Hikigaya, those requests you two made, they were not made to the service club, you did not make those requests hoping the other side would accept out of obligation, you made them to your precious friends, hoping they cared about you enough to be your support while you searched for the deepest desires within your hearts. That is why i stopped both of you from voicing those requests to me, an outsider in this case."

He had a grateful look on his face and replied with a sincere voice. "I see, thank you Sensei."

Now that the first lesson was over, i had to go on with the second one. This one was much tougher though, i had to convince him to take action without being too big of an influence on his decision.

Looking at him sharply, i asked with a stern voice. "So, what will you decide to do Hikigaya."

He faced me with an annoyed look and lashed out. "Why do i have to be the one to do something Sensei, why do i have to be the one who decides!?"

I wasn't about to give him any quarter though. "You know perfectly well why you uncute brat!"

It was a rare sight to see him filled with so much emotion, there wasn't any trace of usual apathy that was present in his eyes and his voice was cracking. "Y-yeah, i know, but it is still hard Sensei, it is scary and it hurts even thinking about possible consequences."

I had to harden myself to continue, for the look in his eyes was giving me a heartache. There was no escaping if i wanted to make him understand though. "Do you want to know what hurts more Hikigaya, let me ask you a question, how many dates do you think i have been to in the last six months?"

He seemed confused. "How should i know Sensei, and why are you suddenly bragging?"

"Thirteen dinner dates Hikigaya" I answered with an emotionless voice. "And not a single one of them got a second date. Don't think i am bragging, on the contrary i am self deprecating. You see, for the people like us who do not adhere to the society, it is hard to find that someone no matter how high spec you are, you rarely click with someone, maybe even once in a lifetime if you are unlucky, and it hurts a lot when you miss that chance Hikigaya."

He looked like he was going to object but i interrupted him before he could say anything. "But that is not the thing that hurts most Hikigaya, when you miss a chance like that out of cowardice, there is a part of your mind that always has a hope that one day in the future, by sheer luck, you might bump into that person and have a second chance."

It seemed like that answered to whatever his objection was so he kept listening in attention. "What hurts most is realising how much that someone changed without you, maybe no longer being someone you could admire and lamenting the fact that little hope left within you was for naught."

A low-spirited look appeared on his face and he spoke with a dejected voice. "This must have left a bitter taste in your mouth Sensei, trying to overcome my fears by using something scarier. It is a cruel lesson but i am grateful after all."

"Indeed it is a cruel lesson but one you had to be thought, for the things you might loose by acting should not matter if all it takes for them to be lost is a genuine desire, but the things you will gain by acting will hopefully stay with you for a lifetime. As for the bitterness, i remembered your wisdom about lifes bitterness and ordered the sweetest coffee they had." I ended with a playful wink and a sip from the coffee that had enough sugar to cause diabetes at this young age of mine!

It seemed like my last words managed to cheer him, for as his custom he expressed his gratitude with deprecating words. "Be careful with the coffee Sensei, it is not healthy to drink such a sweet one at your age."

Normally those words would make me go physical and make him squirm with pain after an obliterating special move, but today i decided to be merciful. "You really are a stubborn fellow who is determined to stay uncute..."

* * *

After finishing our orders and paying the bill, we went out of the cafe and stumbled into the one person we didn't need to.

The moment she laid her eyes on us, her bored expression turned into a one of mischief and more importantly malice.

She immediately closed the distance and started elbowing Hikigaya's sides while staring at us with an amused grin. "Oh my, oh my, Shizuka-chan and Hikigaya-kun outside together on the Valentines day night. Hikigaya-kun you unfaithful man, wait until Yukino-chan hears about this!"

As expected an extremely annoyed look formed on Hikigaya's face while he tried to mumble a few words. "We just ran into each other and decided to grab a bite before-..."

Haruno on the other hand did not even bother listening, and turned her amused expression towards me. "Shizuka-chan, did you finally give up and decide to settle with Hikigaya-kun, i can't say i disapprove your choice, but as a loyal oneechan, i must stay on Yukino-chan's side."

I should have faked anger as i usually do and scolded Haruno for her behaviour, but for some reason her words rubbed off on me wrong today and instead of chiding words, what came out of my mouth was poison. "Yeah, we are having the wedding next week, try to catch the bouquet, so you can also find the love of your life soon Haruno."

Hikigaya looked like he was going to laugh, but the moment he saw our faces, his own expression turned into confusion.

My face had a look of remorse that it didn't have for years, Haruno as i feared had an expressionless face that signaled the extreme dread and defeat she felt to the few people who could read past her facade.

I knew i had made a huge mistake, but it wasn't the time to get stuck with the feeling of regret, i had to act and act fast before Haruno got over the shock and left. "Haruno i know apologising will not make you feel better, but still i am sorry, after a day filled with bitterness, i lashed out to you without thinking. Forgive my rudeness."

To my surprise, Haruno's fake smile returned fast, she replied with a sweet voice."There is nothing to forgive Shizuka-chan, you did not say anything wrong." Her expressionless face and defeated voice returned at this point. "After all i am just a c-"

"Haruno!" I intervened before she could say anything more. "Let us not talk about this in front of Hikigaya, how about we go out drinking on weekend?"

She didn't say anything for a while, probably trying to calm herself down before showing more weakness in front of Hikigaya, finally she spoke with a calm voice. "There is a Yukinoshita family event next Saturday Shizuka-chan, how about i invite you to that, there will be all kinds prominent people attending, lots of young bachelors to pick from, maybe you can find the right one among them."

It was a good sign that she wasn't totally uncooperative, i would normally hate going to an event like that filled with pompous rich people and i didn't miss the bitterness in her last words, but it was better than expected after my earlier fuck up.

"Sure, just text me the time and the address and i will definitely be there."

With her fake smile on her face she spoke in a hurry after checking her wristwatch. "Well i have to leave now, Yukino-chan is probably waiting for me at her apartment, i missed her so much after you swayed her mind yesterday Hikigaya-kun. Good night both of you." After that she gave me a wink and turned around with her last words. "Don't do anything i wouldn't Shizuka-chan."

* * *

After our farewells, we walked towards the car, i was barely able to keep my cool, while Hikigaya was in silent thinking, my nerves got better of me when we got near the car, i threw the cigarette i was holding away with force and raised my voice. "Damn you Valentines day." While kicking my beloved steeds tires.

It seemed like curiosity overcame Hikigaya and he asked timidly. "What did all that mean Sensei, i have never seen Haruno-san like that."

I decided to say enough to sate his curiosity. "It means that Haruno is not the demon superwomen you make her out to be and she has her own set of problems that she can't deal with."

I was too annoyed to keep talking with Hikigaya now, so i commanded him with a stern voice and moved towards the drivers side. "Now Hikigaya, keep your mouth shut and let me think on the way, you had enough lessons for today"

With a timid tone he said his last words and moved towards the passenger door. "Roger that Sensei."

It was a day filled with surprises, but the thing that surprised me most was remembering the fact that even I could loose my cool in a moment of weakness and carelessness.

As i drove the car past the front door of the cafe we have been sitting, i could spot the waitress that served us running towards a guy and wrapping him in an embrace. Now i was really pissed, give me my praise back girl. I wonder if i should start blaming everything on the gods of romantic comedy like the dead fish eyed guy sitting next to me does...

* * *

 **AN: Hello guys, welcome to the first fiction i ever wrote, to be precise welcome to the first thing i ever wrote -not counting walls of texts i tend to write as forum posts- since the crappy essays i used to write in high school (which was about 10 years ago).**

 **Even though i am a humble engineer whose literary education is at bare high school level, i was under the impression that it wouldn't be that hard to write stuff being the avid reader i am. Oh boy could i be more wrong!**

 **I had this story planned as far as 4 chapters before even starting to write it and i had most of the conversations in my had. But still i couldn't guess how hard it is to write it, especially descriptive parts, they felt so painful i didn't even bother with describing the environment and focused on character expressions and voice tones.**

 **I am hoping i didn't make that many grammatical mistakes, but i wasn't satisfied with my English after writing this, it being my second language i realised i wasn't that bad with the grammar but the thing i seemed to lack most was making sentences pleasing to hear, i noticed i was using same words over and over and i was using same conversation tools repeatedly.**

 **As it is obvious by the title, this story is about Sensei, it will not have any other POV, and it will focus on her life, it might give some conclusion to the main trios story, or it may focus a bit on Haruno, but it will probably skip some steps while reaching those conclusions, like it did with Yukino's request on this chapter, it is not that i didn't tell you what her request is, i didn't even write it myself, it is not needed in this story.**

 **Now this will probably be bad news for some people but i will be having an OC, he will appear on second chapter (ups i spoiled his gender), and i fear i will be blamed with self insertion as it usually happens with male OCs, but i will come clean and say it, if i made a self insertion i probably did it by inserting my own character into Hiratsuka Sensei, OC will have a quite different character from mine, closer to my ideal women if i have to say it (now i feel like i wrote a gender bender fic after saying this).**

 **When it comes to how long this story will last and how often will i update, i have at least 4 chapters planned, but i am sure i will come up with a 5th chapter, after that who knows. Updates will be once a week at best, and i am hoping it will be once a week, unless something unexpected eats up my weekends.**

 **I guess i am supposed to ask for reviews now, well tell me what i did wrong, so i can try to avoid them in the later chapters, or you can flat out say "dude your story sucks, just stop it" and i might leave this as one shot to be forgotten within the depths of this site.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


	2. Chapter 2

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make money publishing this story.

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Greed.

Originally one of the seven deadly sins, yet in this age of consumerism and corporate ambition, it could be said that it has lost its vice status.

Now don't get me wrong, i wasn't one of those kinds who screamed profit is evil all day long, but the idea that the sign of a successful businessman became the one that could squeeze and exploit anything and everything around him as long as he could show off with a few charitable actions rubbed me on the wrong side.

That is why even though i was on a kind of party wearing a long black dress with a revealing backside and sipping from a glass of wine which ones bottle was probably worth as much as a months alcohol costs for me, i had an unpleasant expression on, judging anyone that i laid eyes upon.

I wasn't that bitter to not be aware of the fact that most of the people here were good in their nature, but that nature could easily be surpassed with a combination of weak will and self conceit, and it could easily be seen in their scanning eyes which looked around for profitable connections even though the aim of this event was charity, leave it to the rich people to multitask even the things that sit at the opposite ends of a spectrum.

It wasn't unexpected that i started to gather a few gazes, considering i was one of the few who wasn't socialising, and to these people it must be a crime to be a beautiful women that refuses to socialise.

Thankfully Haruno seemed to be free for the first time after greeting me on my way in. So she moved towards my secluded position, strangely though she had a man on her arm, and by on her arm i mean it literally their arms were positioned on reverse roles. What a strange fellow.

The man was tall, maybe four inches taller than i was, and i was practically a giant for a Japanese woman, he had long legs that made him look even taller than he already was, he had broad shoulders but that was about the only eye catching thing about his body, rest of him looked like an overworked corporate slave who didn't have time for any workout.

Only distinguishing feature on his above average face was a pair of almost frameless glasses that had a thin black frame. His dark hair on the other hand was longer than Haruno's moderate length hair and it was tied into a firm ponytail.

"Kurebayashi-kun, this is my friend Shizuka-chan, she used to be my literature and homeroom teacher back in high school and she also teaches Yukino-chan at the moment." She introduced me with mischievous grin.

"Kurebayashi Kazuya, nice to meet you." He introduced himself with a deep voice and a slight bow.

"Hiratsuka Shizuka, likewise." I answered curtly with a slight bow of my own.

"Kurebayashi-kun is a member of the family that runs the rivaling construction company of our own, he has been fulfilling the main managerial duties last few years, even though his father still holds the ownership. He also happens to be my unofficial fiancé." She dropped the latest bomb nonchalantly.

We both gave her awkward looks and i couldn't manage to come up with any response so she continued on with a cheerful smile. "I will not be able to accompany you for a little while more Shizuka-chan, so i brought him along to keep you company. Don't hesitate to try and steal him away from me though as i don't think it will ever work between us."

As she was about to turn around and walk away, i remembered greeting Hayama when i first arrived, so i asked her the question that was on my mind. "Haruno, your sister, she wasn't invited?"

"Ah, Yukino-chan was of course invited as usual, but apparently she had an actual excuse this time, an outing of sorts, probably with Gahama-chan i assumed." She answered with disinterest and walked away.

As i pushed Yukinoshita out of my mind, i contemplated on Haruno's last comment, not going to work between us she said, the Haruno i knew would go as far as it would take to make it work to meet the expectations had it been her choice that mattered. Suddenly my impression of the guy standing beside me improved.

With a monotonous tone i broke the silence. "So you are not interested in Haruno, Kurebayashi-san."

After internally forming his answer, he replied with a businesslike tone. "My objections are on a grander scale Hiratsuka-san, Haruno-san is irrelevant to those objections, but i will not deny the fact that she is not my type at all."

"And what might be your type." I asked bluntly.

"Someone who is blunt, who is not afraid to wear her emotions and convictions on her sleeve, and someone who doesn't mind betraying expectations. Do you have a habit of betraying expectations Hiratsuka-san." He added playfully.

"I have betrayed my share of expectations over the years, but frankly all i have been betraying have been my own expectations lately." That earned me a chuckle but i pressed on. "You appear to be a model son who is on a roll of pleasing his parents with managing the company and all, don't you think it is hypocritical to ask for something you do not possess."

A devilish smile appeared on his face."I assume you are aware of the fact that nothing is as it appears to be on the surface. After all greatest betrayals are the ones that are most unexpected."

The grin on his face gave me the chills. "That was cold Kurebayashi-san, you could become a yakuza boss with that kind of look."

He gave out another chuckle. "I assure you Hiratsuka-san, my original field is much more tame."

It had been a long time since i have been in an intellectual exchange between equals. It was mostly refuting the half assed sophistry smartass students would came up with. So i decided to have another test that would challenge my own mind while allowing me to get more personal info about him.

"Let me take an educated guess, engineering would be the obvious choice considering the field of your family company but your social skills seem to be too good for that, another suitable option would be finances but you look like the kind that would get bored meddling with numbers, that leaves law, you seem to have enough apathy in you to be a lawyer." I sported a victorious grin.

The grin on my face didn't last for long though as i didn't get the surprised and impressed face i expected him to give. "Excellent deductive skills Hiratsuka-san, i would have thought you were a PI if i hadn't known you were a teacher, but you omitted to take into consideration the crucial parts of the conversation we have been having last few minutes, you almost guessed as if only information you had about me was Haruno-san's introduction."

What a cheeky guy i thought. "Well you have the home turf advantage, and i didn't have enough time to internalise all that information, so i admit defeat, spill it already!"

An embarrassed look formed on his face and he answered with a timid voice." It's Translation and Interpreting Studies."

I could barely stop myself from laughing out loud and used the opening to get back on him. "And you tried to roast me for my deduction Kurebayashi-san, so mean, what kind of choice is that, i couldn't have guessed even if you had given me the whole night."

"What can i say, i love languages, and it was a suitably attractive option to sell at my parents at the time." His devilish grin returned at this point. "After all i told you didn't i, greatest betrayals are the ones that are most unexpected, and the ones that you work on diligently for a long time."

While i was having the most fun i have had in years, regrettably it had to come to an untimely end. The moment he saw the incoming figure, he turned to me with a sour look on his face. "You have a boss fight coming on your way, good luck dealing with the matriarch of the demon family." With those words he sent a slight bow to the incoming figure and scurried away.

Kimono wearing figure gracefully approached me with an indifferent expression on her face. She gave a slight bow with her greeting.

"Good evening Hiratsuka-san, thank you for gracing us with your presence."

I was used to being called as sensei by the parents of my students but i didn't let the lack of it faze me. "Good evening Yukinoshita-san, thank you for your generous invitation."

"We didn't have the opportunity of encountering each other after our brief introduction back when Haruno was your pupil. It would please me to converse with someone who has such an important position in my daughters' life, be it as a friend or an educator." She said emotionlessly.

Woman give me a clue, are you mad at me for meddling with your daughters' life, or are you grateful that i have been taking a load off your back with your inclination to being a neglective mother.

Of course i couldn't say those words to her. "Your insight would be helpful for me as well as i continue to cultivate your daughters' within the limits of my ability as an educator."

I finally managed to get a pleased smile, as i was probably able to convey my passion as a professional. Yet that smile wasn't reflected on her tone yet. "My main source of information regarding Yukino's activities is Haruno as you might guess, and i am wise enough to take anything she says with a grain of salt."

That was good news considering you could never know what Haruno would babble, and i had no clue whether her mother could filter out her ramblings or not until this moment. I let her continue with a nod. "It appears you found it agreeable to put her in charge of this club called service club."

Leave it to Haruno to skip over the details. "It was more like she ran into my office the very first day of high school with paperwork on her hands and conviction on her eyes."

I was expecting to get her first surprised reaction, but it wasn't the case. "I see. As my information suggests and as it seems obvious from the name of the club, what they do can be basically summed up as helping people that has requests, am i right."

I wondered if she was testing me considering the half assed state of her information. But all i had to do was to be honest and trust my own work. "It can certainly be worded that way if the purpose was to summarize it to the shortest possible way, but that kind of summarization leaves a lot to the ones imagination. The point that should not be missed out is they are the ones who decide what kind of requests they should accept, they have a motto that allows them to avoid turning into handymans club."

"And that is?" She asked with an intrigued tone.

So i was finally able to have a moment of change on her tone too. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; -"

"-teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." She interjected with a smile. "It is her fathers favorite quote to throw around, especially when he drinks one glass too much."

I laughed internally, it wasn't hard to guess Yukinoshita was a daddys girl, but it was still amusing. "Well she did write she wanted to go after her fathers footsteps on her career survey after all."

She nodded knowingly but her serious expression returned after that. "I am also told you have put these 'Gahama-chan' and 'Hikigaya-kun' with her in the same club, who appear to be some unimpressive individuals according to my other sources, even though Haruno calls one of them sly and the other one extremely interesting."

Now i was getting scared and angry at the same time. Even though it was disturbing to know she had other sources as if she was running an intelligence company, anger that was feeding on the inaccuracy of these sources reports outweighed the fear. I wasn't going to let anyone badmouth my kids maliciously.

I pondered for a second who her source might be and first name that popped into my mind was Hayama. But i didn't think he would sell Yuigahama's kindness that short or Hikigaya's brilliance for that matter. Well whatever, i had to set her misconceptions straight.

So i answered with a stern tone. "Certainly, i cant deny the fact that Yuigahama is an unimpressive one when it comes to academic capability, but she is the first person that befriended your daughter without an ulterior motive, which helps her to avoid being too cynical towards people."

It didn't take a second for her to attack the opening she saw. "Can i take from that, that this Hikigaya-kun has an ulterior motive to befriend Yukino?"

Slow down woman, you are going to make me start shaking. "Ah, don't misunderstand me, in Hikigaya's case it is the way he lives his life without having expectations from anyone, so he never has an ulterior motive, that is why i do not even consider it a virtue in his case."

Enduring her advances all this time, it was my turn to go on offense, with a determined look i continued. "In Hikigaya's case, he is my best student."

And there was the surprised expression i have been waiting mixed with disbelief. "He is even better than Yukino?"

I kept on with my honest approach. "Academics wise, he is only the third spot, after your daughter and Hayama, but he has some qualities those two severely lack, imaginative freedom and ability to disregard peoples expectations."

With a raised eyebrow she asked. "And those are the qualities that are essential to your field?"

I didn't miss that last remark and i was aware she worded it that way just to indulge me. "I am sure you would agree, these qualities are essential for every extent of life. As an internal part of my occupation, i get to read student essays regularly. What i get to read from your daughter and especially Hayama in those essays is without exception what they think i want to hear."

"And from someone that wields those qualities?"

"It is ever changing, but they are never disillusioned enough to think they know what i want to hear every time. It is thanks to that freedom of choice that they can make risk management part of the process and choose to make it obvious that they wrote what they wanted to write instead when the risk of being wrong is too high." I concluded.

"And what of Haruno?" She asked as if it had just popped into her mind.

"Always what i wanted to hear without a mistake, but never anything else." I answered with a grim tone.

The way she looked at me at that moment was unlike any look she gave me this evening. If i was an optimist i would say it was a look of respect, but she went out and said it. "You are a formidable woman Hiratsuka-san."

I was able to stop myself from being flustered and answered with a cheesy classic line. "It is a big compliment coming from a woman such as yourself Yukinoshita-san."

That look on her face didn't disperse though and she carried on. "I am grateful that Yukino has someone like you on her side while she makes the choices she has to, those we all did at her age."

She paused for a second as if contemplating whether to carry on or not, and carry on she did. "You have a sharp gaze, and i know the burden of having a sharp gaze. Being able to see the things that others can not may seem beneficial at first glance, but it comes with the price of absorbing all that bitterness and despair into yourself for the things that people hide most desperately are those that are rotten."

At that moment i was able to grasp the reason why every time expressions on Yukinoshita sisters would turn into dread anytime their mother was mentioned. It must have been hard to be scrutinised by that all seeing eye all their life, especially when it came from someone that loved them without a doubt.

But this demon matriarch wasn't going to let me go with that. "I can see that you are using your work as a support to lean on to avoid that bitterness from settling in. And it is a good thing that you have an occupation you love doing, as it holds on longer that way. But i am sure you are aware that it will not carry that weight forever."

Even though i was getting motherly advice from someone about only ten years older than i was, i still felt grateful. "In that case i will have to find something else to lean on. Of the kind that can also lean on me."

"That would be the best option." She nodded.

"As for Yukinoshita, i mean Yukino, and making choices, i am sure she has already made her most important choice, and i am of the opinion that she made the right one. She should be able to progress slowly but surely without worrying you too much. I am afraid it is Haruno you should be more worried about, she is on the verge of making an important choice, and i am afraid i cant yet see what she is going to pick even with this sharp gaze of mine."

And with that, dreaded boss battle ended without permanent damage on both sides.

* * *

It felt as if an hour had passed talking to Yukinoshita-san, but apparently that torture was compressed into only quarter of an hour.

After aimlessly gazing around and sipping wine for another fifteen minutes, Haruno finally approached me, this time alone. "How was the talk with the mother Shizuka-chan, learned anything juicy about us?"

"It was certainly eye opening, but she was too fixated on your sister for my tastes." I raised my complaint.

"Certainly, after years of having a pair of unproblematic daughters, she designated Yukino-chan as trouble maker on her first attempt at teenage rebellion." She replied cheerfully.

"Haruno, lets go somewhere open, i need to have a smoke after that stressful conversation." I sighed.

"Those things are bad for your beauty Shizuka-chan." She scolded playfully as she led me to a balcony.

I leaned on the frame of the balcony and started smoking with unusually deep breaths, puffing in and out mercilessly. I told her mother that i could not see what choice Haruno was going to make, but i was never intending to leave that choice to Haruno.

Unlike Hikigaya's case which i was trying hard to not influence his choice as both of his options had close to equal value, Haruno's dilemma had two unthinkable options, while her third option meant a long and hard struggle, and i wasn't even hopeful whether she was aware of that third option or not.

Haruno was gazing at me with intrigued eyes. "You look kinda cool Shizuka-chan."

"I am trying to look cool." I managed to give my standard line before a hearty laugh took over. "Why do i get called cool every time i try to prepare myself for a serious heart to heart, your sister and Hikigaya uttered almost same words on separate occasions."

"So we are going to have a heart to heart Shizuka-chan?" She asked with a fake puzzled look.

"Yeah, after all that was the point of me wasting my evening here, so i can make it up to you after my inconsiderate words that day." With these words a heavier atmosphere fell on the conversation.

Her expressionless face from that day made its return. "Didn't i tell you that it was ok Shizuka-chan, nothing you accidentally implied was untrue, as i was about to say that day, i am just a coward after all."

"Cut the crap Haruno, what you call cowardice is nothing but a fools bravery." I lashed out in frustration.

"Tell me if that is the case Shizuka, what is it that is brave about refusing to fight and giving in to every demand without a single objection." She cried back.

It was going in the way i wanted it to go, i just needed her to loose a bit more control. "Than tell me, why do you refuse to fight Haruno, what makes you so scared to fight for yourself."

And i could see it in her eyes as she snapped, she lashed back with a passionate voice. "Because if i fight, i will definitely win, and-..."

"-and Yukino-chan will suffer instead." I completed her sentence with a calm voice.

Her rising temper instantly cooled off, and she attempted to speak, wide eyed expression on her face. "So you k-..."

"Of course i knew damn you, did you trust me so little to believe i would let you carry it all by yourself without knowing your reason." I was genuinely angry for her disregard for my concern. "I would smack you long ago if i thought you were taking it all out of stubbornness."

She was depressed. "I am still at the same spot Shizuka-chan, there is nothing i can do but leave the things be as they are."

I no longer needed to make her angry so i spoke with a gentle voice. "You certainly have the option of dropping it all on your sister, but i suppose you never even considered it an acceptable one, but you are so used to being by yourself and so fixated on doing things alone, you cant even see the simple third option in front of you."

I gazed at her doubtful expression for a second before continuing. "I called you brave before, but the kind of bravery you showed was the wrong kind, it was a self sacrificing bravery, what you need to do is to be brave enough to want everything to be as you want them to be, a greedy kind."

It felt hilarious to ask someone to be greedy after my earlier monologue about greed, but it was what she needed. "How sure you were when you said you would win if you fought?"

That passionate look returned to her face. "I would win Shizuka-chan, it is not even in question, i would win as long as i knew Yukino-chan wouldn't lose."

A devilish grin adorned my face. "If that is the case Haruno, how could she lose when you two are on the same team."

She looked surprised and annoyed at the same time, so that option did indeed cross your mind Haruno, you were just too self conscious to think it was possible. There was a sliver of hope in her voice when she replied. "You don't mean? She would never accept? I have been too cruel to her thinking she was wasting all my sacrifices, and it would make her even more dependent on me."

I smiled and answered with a reassuring tone. "Don't be so self conscious Haruno, your sister has changed a lot, she is more willing to trust people without expecting too much from them, and she would not be the only one who benefits from this deal. You wouldn't be able to come out unscathed if you had to do it alone."

"I see, i will give it a try." Now it was my turn to be surprised, as after saying those words, i saw Haruno on the verge of crying close the distance between us and wrap me in an embrace. "Can i be greedy once more and ask you a very selfish question."

"Hmm, go for it." As i patted her back gently.

She raised her face off my shoulder and with tears falling asked. "You have been helping Yukino-chan since the day she came to you to form that silly club of theirs right, why did it take so long for you to help me Sensei?"

Only thing that moved me was her calling me sensei again, it had a nostalgic feeling, but her question didn't bother me, as i rarely had any regret regarding my work after all. I never doubted i was a good teacher, i was giving it my one hundred percent and if there were moments even that was not enough, there was probably someone else to blame in the equation.

"Isn't that obvious Haruno?" She looked as if i confirmed her greatest fear but i kept on. "Because i sucked. I was fresh out of graduation, barely able to handle lectures let alone the personal problems of the students. I couldn't even come close to reading you back then, i wasn't even aware of how deep of a mud you were stuck in until a few months before your graduation."

She didn't seem to expect me to be this blunt, i grabbed her shoulders and kept talking. "You know how Hikigaya thinks you are a demon superwoman that is capable of doing anything." That made her chuckle between her sobbing. "Don't go around thinking about me like that, it was especially hard after i started taking care of your sister, i was conflicted and i didn't have a suitable solution at the time, she was not yet ready and you still had some strength in you, so i had to leave you as you were for a little longer."

She wiped her tears with her palms and gave me a sincere smile. "Shizuka-chan, it doesn't suit you to be this humble and self deprecating, please go back to being good old vain and proud Shizuka-chan."

"You brat, who are you calling old!" I playfully scolded. "Go and wash your face before someone sees it."

She gave me a final tight hug and went out without looking back.

* * *

As Haruno was getting past the door that opened to the balcony, a tall figure slipped outside getting past her without being noticed. Creepy, how could this guy be so stealthy with that height.

He was twirling a cigarette between his fingers with experienced movements, as he leaned on the wall to my left and put it in his mouth, i moved instinctively lighting my one hundred yen lighter and raising it to his mouth level, he used it without complaint.

A smile formed on his face. "That looked cool Hiratsuka-san."

"I am trying to l-..." Shit, words came out in auto pilot. "Oh no, i am not having a heart to heart with you, not when i am this stressed out, not with a guy i just met today."

He was amused. "I don't know what you are talking about Hiratsuka-san, i was just making an observation, but rest easy i wont demand any kind of payment for my compliment."

Suddenly a realisation formed in my mind, this guy was waiting outside just by the door while we were talking with Haruno. "Kurebayashi-san, were you listening to our conversation by any chance, it is rude to eavesdrop you know."

"Does it really matter Hiratsuka-san, Haruno-san is irrelevant to me and i am irrelevant to her. There is no harm in me hearing her, so i was acting more like a bodyguard to stop others from hearing." He replied with a bored tone.

I was pissed at his disinterest. "Do you really think so low of her, do you think she is going to be stuck with the way things are at the moment forever?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Not at all Hiratsuka-san, that was certainly the case before hearing her today, but she told you she would win and i am sure it wont take her too long. But it is all irrelevant, our relationship was tainted from the beginning, it stopped becoming an option the day our fathers introduced us with expectant smiles."

Ah i was wrong, it wasn't disinterest or dislike he felt about Haruno, this guy was lamenting a lost opportunity, a choice that was taken away from him forever. It didn't matter whether he would take that choice or not, he would lament that loss without a care for its context, he was that kind of a guy.

I didn't want to press this case anymore so gave out a long sigh. "I am so tired i wanna go home, i didn't even got to taste the food, it sucks drinking so much wine with an empty stomach."

A mischievous smile appeared on his face. "In that case why don't we sneak out and grab a bite?"

I returned his grin. "One condition, I drive."

"Well we would stumble upon my driver if i were to drive so sneaking out would be impossible." He consented.

"Tch, using a driver and all, so unmanly Kurebayashi-san, so unmanly." I said disapprovingly.

He returned with a teasing voice. "Mercy Hiratsuka-sama, i spend half my time on the phone and other half working on a laptop while in the car, it would be hazardous to public safety for me to drive."

"Tch, workaholic."

* * *

We sneaked our way to the car park after taking our coats through a side exit.

His amused face after seeing the kind of car i had lightened my mood. So i made a few sharp turns for his benefit on the way to our destination.

Even though the time i spent at the event felt like a lifetime, it was barely past seven pm, so i could still spot high school students in groups around. One group of three familiar girls peaked my interest just before i was about to make a turn to a side street near a big shopping mall. Long legged blonde wearing a mini skirt even in this weather, plain looking but cute one with thick framed glasses and service clubs resident airhead. So you were not out with 'Gahama-chan' Yukinoshita.

As i made the turn and parked near my favorite ramen shop, i asked my companion while getting off the car. "So how are you with ramen, Kurebayashi-san."

"I don't think i have tasted any since my university days, and even then it was a rare occasion, it was hard to convince the kind of people i had to hang out with to come to this kind of place." He replied with dejected voice.

"Then i shall be ordering!" I commanded cheerfully as we walked past the entrance.

Suddenly i was in a playful mood. So i ordered two portions of heaviest, the most oily kind there was. The look on his face was enough to tell me he was clueless as i voiced our order loudly.

As our orders arrived and he got his first clue that something was amiss, he gave a questioning look to my grin. But he started to taste first few noodles after a deep breath. Apparently he took it as a challenge.

He kept giving me sidelong glances, while i slurped my noodles with utmost confidence and vigor. The way he looked dreadfully at the broth as he slowed the pace he was eating the noodles as if trying to delay what was coming almost made me burst out laughing.

As i took the bowl like a cup and made it halfway drinking the broth, he still had a few noodles left. I patted him playfully on the back and teased. "Kurebayashi-san, it is said eating a bowl of ramen shouldn't take more than five minutes, hurry up."

A determined look appeared on his face, and he slurped all the remaining noodles in one go and took the bowl in his hand drinking in small amounts but with steady pace.

I waited for him to make it to half way before turning towards him and drinking my remaining half in one go, trying to show off as much as i can.

He formed a defeated look and drank the remaining half without hurry. After taking a deep breath he complained. "What was with so much oil Hiratsuka-san, are you trying to make me suffer vascular occlusion at this young age of mine."

I formed a smile at his accusation but it made me wonder how old was this guy, at first look he seemed young enough to be at the middle of his twenties, but the way he carried himself and the apparent wisdom in the way he conversed made me think his age was closer to mine.

I wanted to pry it out without being too direct. "By the way Kurebayashi-san, isn't there too much of an age age difference between you and Haruno for your parents to try and match you up."

It was obvious that he was immediately aware of my intention, but i wasn't expecting him to fall for my weak trick anyway. "Hmm, it is true that nine years is a little unusual for this kind of pairing, but the way Haruno-san acts more mature than she actually is must have made our parents ok with it."

Leave it to Haruno to fool even the wolves of the business world with the quality of her acting.

At this point he turned towards me and gave a hesitant look before talking. "Can i ask you a personal question Hiratsuka-san?"

"As long as it concerns only my person." I immediately replied.

A curious voice came out. "What is it like to be an educator, what do you like about it, what are the things you hate if there is any?"

I thought internally for a while before answering. "If i had to compress how i feel into a single word, it would be bittersweet."

"Explain." He demanded with extreme interest in his eyes.

I carried on with a tight smile on my lips. "Certainly lectures get boring after a while, teaching the same thing over and over every year, eventually you switch to auto pilot. But it makes up for it to see your pupils evolve into individuals that you can admire. What is sad though is that it gets harder and harder over the years to stay friends with those kids you admire after they graduate. At first the age difference is a mare six or so years as it was with my first graduates, i could even claim to be the same generation as they were, but soon that difference reaches double digits and it keeps growing."

A smile formed on his face probably from seeing my care for those kids but he kept silent. "I get depressed thinking about the days they will see me in a motherly light or even grandmotherly, after being seen like an older sister figure for so long. But maybe i will feel a different kind of satisfaction when the time comes."

"Thank you for being honest Hiratsuka-san, most people would glorify their occupation, still it must be nice to have a job that you can be proud of." He commented with a sincere tone.

I wanted to cheer him a bit. "Well you put roofs over peoples heads, certainly it also is an occupation that you can be proud of."

That made him chuckle and he formed a self conscious expression. "Regrettably it is usually livestock whose heads we put a roof over, it is not that easy to get residential projects off Yukinoshitas, so we mostly focus on agricultural projects."

Shit, i made it worse. "Well it must have its own charms!" I tried to make a weak comeback.

He smiled again. "Nice try Hiratsuka-san."

* * *

All that was left was for me to drop him back at our original location. We were silent on the short ride back. Both of us probably thinking over the evenings events.

When i pulled over left so he could exit i gave him a non committal farewell. "Good night Kurebayashi-san, i thoroughly enjoyed our conversations today."

"Good night to you too Hiratsuka-san, i hope we can have more conversations in the future." He added with a smile as he left the car.

I wondered if it was ok to do that though, i wondered if it would be wise to be tangled to those people through this guy. I wondered if it would be irresponsible for me to do that.

I was was surrounded with greedy people.

Kurebayashi-san was greedy for plotting behind his family.

Yukinoshita-san had probably been greedy all her life making this and that demand to her daughters.

Yukinoshita Yukino was greedy for skipping today and going on an outing that was not with 'Gahama-chan'.

Hikigaya Hachiman had been greedy for holding up his decision so no one would be hurt.

And i forced Haruno to become the greediest of them all.

I wanted to be greedy for once, i wanted to act without a care in the world.

I lowered the window and held out my hand with palms open as he was passing. "Kurebayashi, give me your business card."

Lack of honorific surprised him, but he complied without hesitation, pulling a thin card out of the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it upon my open palm and kept on walking.

I pulled out my phone and entered the number on the card, letting it ring once before pressing the red button.

At distance i could see him pulling his phone out and checking the caller...

* * *

 **AN: Hello there dear reader, hurray for two consecutive empty days at work! Thanks to that i can put this update earlier than i promised.**

 **I want to start by thanking you for the reviews, reading your words made me want to write anytime i had a free moment, i guess that is the case with all newbie authors (it feels conceited to call myself that though), especially to RalphZiggy knowing him from the subreddit i felt grateful for getting encouragement from a familiar name (and yeah it was really hard compared to dealing with spreadsheets!).**

 **This chapter mostly had a heavy atmosphere and was a bit too heavy on drama, but for those that prefer more lighthearted stuff next chapter will be fluff almost in its entirety.**

 **Apparently i started both chapters talking about a concept, and the chapters themselves revolved heavily around those. Believe it or not it was unintentional at the beginning. I realised it when i started writing the last portion of this chapter and decided to make it a thing. Next chapter will start with an abbreviation, PDA. (Public Display of Affection, for those too lazy to Google.)**

 **One thing i learned from this experience is, time flies so fast when you are writing. You know the days at work when there is nothing to do but your boss is too much of a corporate slaver to let you leave early, it is usually watching random videos on YouTube those days as i tend to run out of reading material at inopportune times. Those times flied like nothing while writing.**

 **I hope you liked my OC, i think i managed to capture a good chemistry between him and the Sensei. But his indifferent attitude might come off as cold at times i suppose. I have always been fascinated by the name Kurebayashi for some unknown reason as i don't even know its meaning, so i picked that as his family name. His given name on the other hand was the first one i stumbled upon that starts with K. He will only have a short appearance in the next chapter.**

 **I think i left you with two mysteries in this chapter, one of them was really obvious and should be revealed at the next chapter, and the other one, i don't even know if you would call it a mystery as i think the clues i gave were too subtle.**

 **One of my main concerns was having Sensei focus too much on other characters problems and not giving her enough character progression, not being able to reveal the fact that she also has her own problems. I tried to reveal her problems during her conversations with those that could be considered her equals.**

 **Again tell me what you think this story lacks or whatever you are unsatisfied with by your reviews and i will try to fix them within the limits of my ability.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


	3. Chapter 3

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make any Money publishing this story.

* * *

PDA.

Abbreviation for Public Display of Affection, something i hated with passion unless i was the one doing it. Go ahead and sue me, yeah i am a hypocrite.

What pops into mind when you utter those words is usually kisses and hugs, but it can be as obnoxious as feeding each other or as subtle as sneaky looks.

One of the reasons for that display is to show off, which is the kind i hate most, justly so. Other kind happens when one looses control, sometimes affection levels rise so high one can not help but display it at unexpected moments, i hated that kind too, but without a rational reason, out of bitterness and envy.

Almost a week past that charity event, i was standing wearing my lab coat inside the class, talking and writing in auto pilot. And the familiar face ahead of me had an expression that i could only define as an affectionate one.

It wasn't surprising to see Hikigaya's gaze wandering around or it wasn't even unexpected to see him flat out sleep in my lectures. But today his gaze was stuck out of window with that affectionate expression.

I turned around and checked whatever was so interesting outside and all i could see was a class of students in their PE uniforms.

On a more careful glance i could tell that almost all of the students were girls, that would explain a lot had it been a creepy expression that adorned Hikigaya's face.

When i thought about it a little longer though, i could deduce the fact that existence of so many girls meant it was one of the 'J' classes that was outside. Which made it a lot easier to understand the situation.

Using the whiteboards these days were certainly convenient which helped us teachers avoid the cough sprees caused by chalk. But it made the lab coat i was wearing almost arbitrary.

One good thing about the good old blackboards was the fact that you could throw chalk at disrespecting students. Well i was going to have to do with the markers head cover.

I flung the item with accuracy but not with too much force and it bounced off Hikigaya's head and landed in front of him. A perfect shot that got his attention without hurting him.

I talked with a stern voice. "Hikigaya, eyes on the board and bring that back to me after class."

Rest of the class went eventless, his gaze never leaving me or the board. He reluctantly walked towards my desk, and dropped the markers cover on it when he arrived.

I let him wait there standing for a while feigning disinterest. Right when he thought i wasn't going to say anything and attempted to turn around, i asked. "Did you like what you saw outside Hikigaya?"

He answered with a flustered voice. "Ah, i was just smiling internally Sensei, it had nothing to do with whatever was outside, you know i have a habit of laughing at my own jokes."

Liar. I decided to ask him a seemingly irrelevant question. "How was your weekend after the valentines day Hikigaya?"

Go ahead i thought, step on the trap, he looked confused by the unexpected question. "Same as always Sensei, blissful hours between me, myself and my room."

"So you didn't go outside at all?" I asked the crucial question.

He waited a few seconds before answering. "Just to the bookstore, why are you asking these questions Sensei?"

I got what i wanted so i decided to let him go at this point. "It is nothing, i will have to make you suffer if you phase out in my class again, you can leave now."

He turned around without any word and moved back to his desk, when he arrived he pulled out his phone and started tapping on the screen.

* * *

I had an empty hour at the end of today so i was smoking and resting inside teachers room when i realised i forgot the student essays i was supposed to read last night in the car, so i went out to get them before the classes ended.

By the time i made my way back classes had already ended so Yukinoshita was already waiting outside the room to get the clubroom keys.

Room would normally be unlocked today, so she could usually get them by herself after giving me a quick greeting. But today i locked the door as i was leaving it empty so she had to wait for someone to arrive.

She was leaning on the wall while tapping her phone with inexperienced fingers having a huge smile on her face.

I slowed my pace not letting my footsteps to make too much noise, that way i was able to get near a few feet of her without being noticed. "You are as early as usual Yukinoshita."

That made her jump and her phone flung upwards before she caught it with lightning fast reflexes. Japan could double its Olympics medal count had this girls stamina matched her average specs.

She greeted me after getting over the surprise. "Good afternoon Sensei, i take extreme caution to be as early as i can so Hikigaya-kun cant use the fact that clubroom was locked as an excuse to skip club activities."

"I say he would wait until club activities were over even if that was the case these days." I smiled.

"That might indeed be the case." She replied with her own smile.

She followed me as i walked in and moved towards the separated room at the backside which i used to smoke, i beckoned her to get in with a head movement after sliding the door.

She complied without an objection and sat upon the small couch while i settled myself on the wider one as if it was a throne.

"You had a PE class this morning Yukinoshita." I inquired.

"Indeed i did." She answered with a surprised tone. "Did you happen to memorise my schedule Sensei?"

"Nah, i could see you guys from the windows of 2F so that is why i could tell." I answered with a grin.

"I see." She mumbled with blushed cheeks.

I felt a little bad for teasing her so subtly but i wasn't even halfway done, so she was going to have to endure it for a while longer.

"You were absent at the Saturdays event Yukinoshita, care to explain why?" I asked with a fake accusation in my voice.

"I had made plans to go to a bookstore that day so i couldn't cancel them in a moments notice." She gave her weak excuse.

"I see, we cant be having you attend a family event when you have a grand excuse such as going to a bookstore after all." I replied with heavy sarcasm.

She was getting annoyed now. "I don't see why it interests you so much whether i had a legitimate excuse or not."

I carried on without being fazed by her tone, still with a smile on my lips. "I was just curious, Haruno seemed to be under the impression that you were in some kind of outing with Yuigahama, i found out that wasn't the case as i know for a fact Yuigahama was out with her clique that evening."

"Yuigahama-san was certainly not present at that outing and i have no idea how Nee-san got that impression." Again she was flustered.

"I see." I replied forming another grin.

We waited in an awkward silence for a while. I was satisfied with the amount of teasing so i was about to open a topic that was a bit more serious.

But instead she was the one who broke the silence. "Speaking of Yuigahama-san, she informed me she would be absent from club activities today with the excuse of family responsibilities, she also assured me that she would also inform you, but knowing her tendency to forget things i wanted to be sure."

"She didn't mention it." I replied while trying not to laugh.

"That certainly was not unexpected." She said dejectedly trying to surpass an headache with her fingers on her forehead.

"So you two are alone today, be nice and try not to kill each other." I suggested with a playful tone.

"I cant give you a promise when i am not sure i could hold it Sensei, but i will try to stick with non permanent damage." She replied with her own playful tone.

I had no idea what Haruno was up to after our talk, and i wasn't able to get any clue regarding her from Yukinoshita's behaviour today, so i had to ask if i wanted to learn anything.

"Yukinoshita, how is it going living with Haruno." I started with an indirect question.

She contemplated for a second and answered. "First few days were straining and extremely uncomfortable, but lately Nee-san had become strange."

"In what way." I asked directly.

"Well i don't want to admit it, but in a good way, she seems to be less obsessed with me and our conversations are not as abrasive as they used to be." She replied with a smile.

I wondered whether it was a part of her plan or she was acting that way naturally so i needed to inquire more. "Anything else?"

She formed an annoyed expression. "Certainly, she still keeps teasing me on every chance she gets, but the tone of that teasing changed significantly."

She looked at my face for a second, indecisiveness in her eyes, so i prodded her on. "Carry on Yukinoshita."

She did with a weak voice. "Her teasing used to carry a tone of malice that even surpassed its mischief, that malice used to make me dread talking to Nee-san, that malice is completely gone now, all that is left is mischief."

I was glad to see Yukinoshita grow enough to admit her fears, so i decided to give her a clue to help ease her doubts in the coming days. "Yukinoshita, i am of the opinion that you should reciprocate those changes in Haruno with your own efforts, and i would like you to give her the benefit of the doubt when or if the time comes for it."

She answered with determination. "Sensei you know i never wanted a strained relationship with Nee-san, or any member of my family. Even after i decided i didn't want to be a carbon copy of Nee-san, i would still admit i admired her when asked."

That popped a question to my mind. "What is it that you admired most about her?"

A little bit of anger was getting hold of her. "Regrettably most impressive thing about her was the way she could deal with all the bullshit our parents would throw at her way without a complaint, even though i didn't approve of that or knew why she would do that to be honest."

I didn't want to wear her out this much emotionally today so i decided to let her go. "We had enough talk for today Yukinoshita, lets not make Hikigaya wait for too long, jokes aside he might actually go home."

She gave a slight bow and left the room with a smiling face.

Angry Yukinoshita was scary, she was indeed someone that was worthy of her family name after all, i didn't expect her to use a swear word even in anger, but her words put a bittersweet smile on my face.

Those two could deal with anything that was thrown in their way together if they could communicate without driving each other mad, but that was Haruno's task not mine, i did as much as i can without being too meddlesome or without handing out something that should take hard work to achieve as a freebie.

I remembered reading a book back in my university days, it had an English name which i seemed to have forgotten, and it probably had an English author. The edition i owned was a combination of three books and it had a plain binding cover that was red. It had a simple quote that was stuck with me.

"Short cuts make long delays."

I suddenly felt like i was committing a huge blasphemy for forgetting the name of that book and its author.

* * *

I spent about half an hour reading and grading some essays, they were one of the more enjoyable parts of my actual job as an educator.

I was satisfied with the amount of information i received on Haruno's state today. But i was still curious about the way those two acted, so i decided to pay service club a visit.

As i arrived at the clubdoor and decided to knock for once, my hand stopped when i heard Hikigaya's voice coming from inside.

"Hey, Yukino." I heard him say with a timid voice.

"Yes, Hachiman." She replied calmly.

Oh boy, they were using first names. Don't get too-, well i wasn't sure how i exactly felt, i was feeling too many emotions at the same time, main contenders being excitement and worry. So i told myself, don't get too -however you were feeling- Shizuka.

Hikigaya continued, apparently managing to get Yukinoshita's attention. "It is nice, being alone together once in a while."

Yukinoshita's answering voice was timid this time. "Even though it feels rude to Yuigahama-san to say that, i can not help but agree. I cant say i like the look on your face though."

Damn you Yukinoshita, what face, be more specific.

Hikigaya must have felt more confident after her answer as his voice was firm when he continued. "I cant help it, us men have urges you know."

Yukinoshita answered with a chiding voice. "Let me educate you Hachiman, regardless of gender all creatures have urges, what separates us from animals is being able to control those urges with sheer willpower, even animals can control their urges in certain situations."

What urges! I had no idea about the scale of their conversation. They went silent for a few seconds. Just as i was about to think i could get in without causing any awkwardness, once again i heard Hikigaya's voice.

"Hey Yukino." He called out the same way.

"Yes, Hachiman." She replied with frustrated tone this time.

"Wanna act on those urges?"

Shit, shit, shit. Since when were you so smooth Hikigaya. What were those idiots thinking talking those words so loud, actually what were they thinking talking those kinds of words.

Yukinoshita replied with questioning tone. "Don't you think it is too premature to do that kind of think."

Hikigaya replied. "Can you really judge that kind of thing solely depending on the passage of time, shouldn't quality also be taken into account. After all some people could make years worth of progress in a matter of days on this kind of thing."

How could they talk this kind of thing like a pair of arguing philosophers, were they even blushing while saying those words. Actually i don't care, tell me how many years of progress you two intend to make there damn it.

"I suppose your argument makes sense." Even though her words were natural, i could hear excitement in her voice.

I heard the loud sliding of a single seat and decided it was time to interrupt whatever was going inside. I could deal with their anger if it was just my imagination working.

I slid the door open in an instant and rushed in before slamming it close, their seats were side by side, faces less than an inch from each other, of course i was only able to see that scene for a slim second before they jumped off their seats.

A short silence settled in, i gave out a long breath when i realised they were just being idiots. They looked angry though and they lashed out in synch.

"Sensei , knock!"

I shut them up with a death glare before talking in a low voice. "You idiots, are you even aware how loud your voices were, anyone that was passing that door could hear you."

Their faces turned red and they gave worried looks to each other.

"You are lucky i was the one who busted you and it is still a long time away for the clubs dispersing time." Honestly i wasn't even angry, i just wanted to get at them for being so careless.

I continued as they listened in silence their gazes down. "You know i wouldn't care even if you kissed each other in front of the whole school, but what is with making a simple initiation to a makeout session sound like a mix between a script of a softcore movie and a philosophical debate, i rushed in wondering what you guys were actually doing."

That made them blush even more if that was possible, but all of my stress was lifted so i landed on the nearest seat and started laughing hysterically.

It took a few minutes for my hysteria to settle down. They were still standing side by side, both faces starting to get annoyed as i kept laughing.

I wiped a tear from my right eye when i regained control and commanded them. "Sit."

They sat down and slid their seats away from each other until they were about a foot apart with obvious disappointment on their faces.

I had to brace myself to avoid another episode of hysteria before i could talk again. "So you two are an item now."

It was Yukinoshita who answered. "Even though i don't like the crude way you put it Sensei, i don't see a way to deny the fact that i am in a relationship with Hikigaya-kun, and I-"

"So you intended to deny it if you could." Hikigaya interjected half sarcastically.

"-and I don't have the intention of denying it if i have to be honest." She completed her sentence meanwhile giving Hikigaya a death glare.

I wanted to ask them a few more embarrassing questions, the ones that would make new couples happy even though they would act like it didn't, before i asked the more serious question in my mind.

"So spill the juicy details, who confessed first?" I asked with a grin.

They exchanged looks for a while, probably wondering who should do the talking. Finally Hikigaya let out a sigh and answered with sarcasm. "I was the one who did it, as it is a mans job to confess."

"Which was regrettable considering i am the one who is the dominant side on this relationship, it would make more sense for me to do it." Yukinoshita made her rebuttal.

It was good to see them not going self conscious about their way of bantering. It would have been a sad sight to see it go away.

Another question appeared on my mind. "Assuming you had your first date on Saturday,-" That made their eyes go wide. "-how did two stuck up brats like you went as far as kissing in less than a week?"

Again they gave each other sidelong glances, trying to decide who should be the one answering, but this question had the potential to have different answer for each of them. So they went at the same time.

"We were just too sick of waiting."

"We have been holding for too long."

It was time for an another fit of laughing for me as they gave each other embarrassed glances. I should have felt a slimmer of annoyance but it was just not there.

After containing my laughter i decided to tease them one last time. "I can understand now why Haruno likes teasing you two so much, you guys are just hilariously cute."

Hikigaya was visibly annoyed, Yukinoshita on the other hand was actually pouting. Even Hikigaya seemed to have a hard time containing his laughter after seeing her face.

After making sure last of my laughters died out with few coughs i fixed my gaze on them. "Now, i shouldn't have asked these questions to you as a teacher, but after all my efforts i think i deserved it, now i am going to ask you a serious question."

They listened in attention. "How will you go about this, who is going to know about it? Everyone? No one? Those you trust to keep their mouths shut?"

Yukinoshita replied without hesitation. "I don't think this is something that needs to be hidden or partially hidden, i am ok with anyone knowing it, it is better than slipping up and dealing with it after a rumour appears."

That was an expected answer from Yukinoshita, who must be sick of dealing with baseless rumours, she probably didn't want this to be tainted by something like that. But i wanted to know what Hikigaya though about it. "Hikigaya what is your opinion?"

He replied calmly. "Before anyone else, we should decide whether we are willing to let your parents be aware of it or not, i am fine in any case but this the only thing that actually matters after all."

He wasn't called monster of reason for nothing after all, Yukinoshita looked like she was going to speak but i interjected. "Let me give you an advice if you decide to let them know, don't make it more than what it is, or less than what it is."

"What do you mean Sensei?" Yukinoshita asked.

"Don't make it sound like you found the love of your life, but don't sell it short by making them think you are just playing around. Make it look like what it is, a sweet high school romance. That will probably give them the impression that it is nothing too serious to worry for now, but that will also allow you to avoid making them think that you are just a pair of brats without self control."

I gave them a few seconds to think whether they had anything to ask, seeing them in silent contemplation i decided to give my leaving words. "Well, i still have essays to grade, sadly none of them are yours, i would have liked to read what you wrote with the state you have been in this past week, and i have to finish them on time, i have an outing of sorts after all."

Hikigaya raised an eyebrow. "You are fast Sensei, is this going to be the fourteenth one?"

"I will have you know this will technically be our second outing." I proudly announced.

"Yet you still call it an outing." He made his comeback.

Before i could act, Yukinoshita came to my aid, smacking him lightly on the back of his head. "Good luck Sensei."

"Good luck to you too kids, and behave." I gave them a wink and got off my seat to leave.

* * *

I thought i had to rush grading remaining essays, but i managed to finish them earlier than expected, i normally had the option of handling them back at home but i had no idea when i was going to be at home tonight so i didn't want to cut from my sleeping hours.

After fixing parts of my clothes and putting on my regular coat instead of my lab coat, i made my way towards the main gate, when i was about to arrive i remembered that we didn't set up a meeting spot, so i decided to type a mail while waiting in front of the gate.

Before i could start typing though a familiar voice called out. "Good evening Hiratsuka-san."

He was walking towards me with a cigarette on his hand. "Good evening Kurebayashi, you didn't have to come this far, we could meet up at our destination."

"That would be tactless Hiratsuka-san, besides i wanted to see you in your natural environment." He replied with interest in his voice.

I didn't care too much but it would still be wise to avoid getting picked up by a guy in front of the school, thankfully clubs still had a few minutes before dispersing so there wasn't too many students around.

He looked at me from top to bottom and commented. "It looks good on you to wear a business suit Hiratsuka-san."

I raised an eyebrow. "You know you sound like a weird guy saying that when you didn't even compliment the dress i wore in that event."

He formed a thin smile. "Well we all have our tastes besides it also has a natural charm, think of it like the stereotype about women preferring men in uniform."

"Well you are missing the signature piece though, you should see me in my lab coat." I said playfully.

He formed a grin. "Now you are making me envious of your students."

I was surprised at myself being able to flirt so easily, i thought i would have lost my edge by now, yet here i was teasing, playing and bantering back and forth with this guy.

Incoming pair grabbed my attention, they were walking side by side without physical contact but apparent affecting on their faces while they were talking to each other with smiles.

Kurebayashi probably following my gaze also spotted them, recognition on his face. "Isn't that Haruno-san's little sister, Yukino-san?"

"Kurebayashi tell me the first word that pops into your mind when you look at those two." I demanded.

After a quick glance he answered. "Impatience."

"Explain." I urged him.

"They look like they cant get away from here fast enough so they could hold hands." He said with a smile.

"Take a good look at them Kurebayashi, they are my Mona Lisa." I told him with a huge smile on my face.

"Your Mona Lisa?" He inquired.

"My technique may improve or i might come up with something flashier one day but nothing ever will have so much of my soul in it." I answered with a wistful tone.

He looked at me without hiding his admiration yet his words didn't reflect that. "You know Hiratsuka-san, there was a horrible consequence of getting to know you."

"And that was?" I asked with surprise.

"I had no idea how i was going to keep doing my job witnessing your passion for yours. I felt like skipping it every day for all this week. Now you have shown me that i didn't even witness half of it back then." He replied.

I decided to comfort him with teasing. "That is just the laziness talking Kurebayashi."

Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were about to pass in front of us, both gave slight bows when they saw me and looked at my companion with intrigue.

An idea formed in my head, i wanted to pay them back for all kinds of affection they forced on me today. So i moved my right hand towards Kurebayashi's left elbow intending to hold it.

But something in my mind resisted. It was as if a voice screamed 'don't'. I tried to reason with it digging deep trying to find one. But nothing reasonable surfaced. I wasn't going to be controlled by something i couldn't even identify yet. So i kept on with the action even though it took all the willpower i could muster.

Feeling my hand on his arm, he asked with a grin. "Are we feeling brave Hiratsuka-san?"

"Don't get too excited Kurebayashi, i have an ulterior motive." I teased back pointing at the kids.

They saw my hand on his arm and gave each other a look. Their hands started moving towards each other but they both stopped short and dropped. Impatience growing in their eyes they increased their pace and walked past us.

"So you are competing with a couple of high school kids." He tried to tease.

"Nah, it wasn't a competition, it was payback." I replied nonchalantly.

I removed my hand from his arm, unable to grasp why doing so made me relax so much. He didn't make a comment on it thankfully.

"Shall we go Hiratsuka-san, my car is that way." He pointed with a head movement.

"So we are taking your car this time, no driver i assume." I teased.

He twirled the key on his finger without answering.

When we arrived at the car it didn't take long to spot that it was the same model as mine, except it was this years model. "Now you are just showing off, Kurebayashi."

"How can i show off with something that doesn't belong to me Hiratsuka-san, it was collecting dust in a company garage, i took it out for your benefit." He acted hurt.

"Potato, potato, don't act like you are some random guy working at the company, anyway you know what i am going to say right?" I said with a cheerful grin.

"You drive." He flung the keys at me with a defeated expression...

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone, here i am with another early update, i feel like i am going to rumble a lot during this AN so prepare yourself.**

 **Lets start with formalities, thank you for your extremely encouraging reviews, i never expected your reactions to be so positive, and never expected to receive reviews with so solid structure. Some of the reviews made me want to sit together with you guys and talk about this stuff whole day.**

 **I had a huge problem with the story until finishing this chapter, i didn't have a roadblock between Sensei and the OC, without a roadblock their fate looked like a forgone conclusion, as it would be irrational to not go that way, thankfully i can now be the one who can decide whether it will go that way or not. I hope i didn't portray Sensei's reluctance at the end like a supernatural phenomenon, it certainly felt that way after rereading the chapter a few times.**

 **I tried to make eavesdropping scene sound open to interpreting as much as i could to make Sensei's overworking imagination plausible. At first i wondered if i should make i sound lewder but decided against it to avoid making them sound more out of character than they already were.**

 **I wonder how many of you will be able to tell which book Sensei was talking about without googling the quote. It is really an easy one which is why i considered it a blasphemy for Sensei to forget its name but you never know how obsessed a Japanese Literature major could be about about Japanese Literature, enough to forget even such a book.**

 **About Haruno and her sacrificing herself for Yukino, i think i failed to convey the fact that i think it was a wrong thing for her to do. I think she underestimated Yukino's ability to deal with stuff thrown at her because the way they dealt with that was so different from each other. One of the characters qualities of Yukino i think that is overlooked is that she is not afraid to escape when she thinks it is the best option, as she did by demanding to live by herself. After all as the great author of the above mentioned book once said "I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home?". Now i feel bad for writing this paragraph as i could use it as a plot point in future.**

 **One of the things i discovered about writing is, it is not a linear progress at all. One moment i am writing a random point in this chapter and suddenly the ending scene of this whole story appears in my mind. And it is not just a glimmer of idea that pops, all the conversations, reactions, emotions and even the sentence structure suddenly appears and i have to rewrite and reread it mentally a few times so it would stay there until the time comes to put them on paper (metaphoric one as i wrote this all on a smart phone which sometimes causes an ache on my right thumb). And in another moment it is these words that you are reading at this moment that pops into my mind.**

 **To be honest i used to find it weird that authors here were so obsessed with reviews as i didn't have the habit of posting reviews here, i didn't even have an account here even after reading so many stories. Now i can see their point as it is such a crucial point that keeps you writing, especially some of the ones that i received that had so high quality. I think i should start writing some even though i am so behind in reading stories i follow as writing takes all my empty hours these days, it would probably be rude not to do so as i will ask you your opinions once again.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


	4. Chapter 4

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make any money publishing this story.

* * *

Belonging.

I have always considered myself lucky to find the place i belonged so early in life. Joy of having a whole new grade of students every year or joy of finding another student waiting for me in teachers room hoping for some much needed advice. Those things made me appreciate finding that place.

There were people who found that place much earlier than i did like those two kids who were glued to their clubroom by that kind hearted airhead until that belonging settled in. They went further than that and found out it wasn't at the place that belonging laid but at each others side.

Then my thoughts went darker and i was reminded of those that were born out of their due place. I wondered how hard it must be or how long it would take for those people to find the place they belonged. When i thought about a lifetime of search for that place, i decided to stop thinking fearing i would ruin my own mood.

Reason all those thoughts appeared on my mind was the way the guy in front of me looked so comfortable in this kind of place even though the first thing that crossed my mind was that he shouldn't have belonged in a place like this.

This should have gotten my attention long before back in my favorite ramen shop. But it probably slipped past because of my little prank and his lack of knowledge.

We were sitting at a humble place that seemed like a mix of a restaurant and a bar. The music was very low and food was too diverse for it to be called a bar but they were also serving alcohol and it had an actual bar table.

He seemed to be either regular or acquainted with establishment by some other way for they greeted him with his name on our arrival. We were given a window side table but regrettably it was near a group of four guys who were too loud for their own good.

"You seem deep in thought Hiratsuka-san, are you perhaps still worried about Haruno-san." He broke the silence we had while trying to not let the food go cold.

I couldn't say i was actually worried about him. "Hmm, not really, i was curious about how you knew somewhere like this, you even seem to be on good terms with the staff."

"Well i do have acquaintances that prefer places like this, we drop by once in a while. It was a fortunate thing for someone like me to discover that more famous places didn't always have better tasting food." He answered as if he was handing out wisdom.

I was satisfied with his answer but decided to make a rebuttal. "You should also feel fortunate that i took you to the best ramen place there is in Chiba, or whole country as far as i tasted."

"I will have to trust your word on that." He replied in defeat.

We took a few more bites off our meals and then he turned to me as if he just realised something. "By the way Hiratsuka-san, is Haruno-san aware of the current situation you have shown me this evening?"

"You mean her sister? She probably doesn't know it yet but it shouldn't take long. Do you think they can hide something like that from Haruno the way they were today." I answered smiling.

He formed a strained smile. "Not a chance, is she going to be ok with that though, i fear she might get the guy thrown into the bay with a block of stone tied to his foot."

I chuckled at the way he pictured Haruno. "You have no idea, she has been dying to turn them into an item, she almost ruined all my efforts in more than one occasion."

He was surprised. "I do not know Yukino-san that well as she is rarely present at those gatherings, but it is still surprising to see both sisters being intrigued by some random high school boy."

Even though the way he worded it was as tame as it could get i couldn't help myself from getting a little angry. "Oi, don't go badmouthing my kid, he is more than he looks."

He smiled at the way i defended Hikigaya. "He must be a brilliant kid if he could make you come to his defense after that little comment, or would you have acted the same way if i said that about any other student."

I answered with honesty. "Well if a teacher tells you he doesn't have favorites or he doesn't have some students he finds annoying, call him out on his bullshit, i wont lie that i might have let that comment slip for some other kid."

"Still, a daughter of Yukinoshita's with a guy they would define as a commoner, does she intend to not deal with anything related to her family business?" He insisted.

"Not exactly, she is actually really serious about going into politics but she doesn't want to be a puppet of her family. She probably also wants to make a name without her family at the beginning, nobody would like to be called they got where they were solely by the aid of their family." I answered with a little bit of pride in my voice.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, i have a little brother who would probably sacrifice an arm, let alone his choice of partner, just to get a little more from our family." He replied with a dark tone.

"So you are not alike, and you probably don't get along hearing the tone of your voice." I tried to pry a little.

He shrugged. "It is true that he is nothing like me, but we do kinda get along, at least we have an understanding."

As the time passed four guy group next to us started to get rowdy, probably from alcohol kicking in. At one point their comments about me started to become audible, i wondered if they sensed the distance between us and became braver or if it was just the alcohol and didn't even realise i could hear them.

Mood suddenly turned sour and i was getting fed up with it. Then Kurebayashi acted. He put his left hand on my right and before turning to the side and giving them a wicked look he spoke. "Don't get too excited Hiratsuka-san, i have an ulterior motive."

And there was that resistance again. This time i wasn't shocked. I regarded it as an annoyance. I could tell it didn't have anything to do with the actual physical contact. I fought the urge to pull my hand away and it took as much effort as it did last time.

When he was done scaring the crap out of the guys with that mobster like look he made eye contact with someone near the bar. "Lets wait a little bit more before leaving."

A bald guy that wore a vest over his shirt made his way towards us and leaned over the loud group and spoke in a low voice with a emotionless smile on his face.

I wasn't able to hear his words but when he was done talking all four guys gave him small bows and looked at each other with embarrassed faces. I was half expecting them to also give us bows but they probably didn't want to gather any more attention than they already did.

Kurebayashi didn't even turn his face towards them when all that was going on and he spoke when it was all done. "I think we are ok to leave now."

We left the place walking towards the car and i wasn't able to surpass my laughter anymore. "So you were trying to show off your manliness Kurebayashi, i wont say it doesn't suit you but you look like a different person while doing that."

"My main concern was preventing your reaction Hiratsuka-san, i haven't witnessed your anger yet but the way you are when you get annoyed tells me i don't want to experience it at all." He replied trying to prevent himself from also laughing.

* * *

I had no idea where our next destination was so i decided to let him drive this time as it felt too much of a hassle to deal with the GPS device.

Only word to describe his driving was careful. I haven't spotted him break a single rule, always driving at optimal speed. There was no sign of him enjoying the driving, i could even go as far as saying he was actually uncomfortable.

I didn't bother asking our destination but when i gathered enough information about our direction after a while, i made my guess. "Are we going to Chiba University by any chance Kurebayashi?"

A grin appeared on his face. "Yeah i wanted you to meet a couple of people, they will probably find you interesting."

Suddenly i remembered of the times when i got to meet with the parents of one of my rare long time partners. Well at worst i was gonna meet with his friends now so i didn't let it bother me that much.

I wondered if there would be anyone there at this hour but then i remembered the night lectures for undergraduates. Those poor souls could sit as far as eleven pm until their lectures were over.

He appeared familiar with the place as he found his way through the building without hesitation as we made our way towards a room that had a sliding door.

After giving it a knock he slid it open and we moved inside the large room. There were three tables, the one on the left was empty.

Right one had a lady sitting behind who looked to be at her late forties, she was probably a beauty in her youth and she had a pair standing in front of her desk who were probably students.

The one back at the middle in front of a window was occupied by a thin old man. He looked to be at least in his sixties. He was about to take a couple of papers from another pair that was standing in front of his table when he spotted us.

Kurebayashi gave his greeting raising his right hand. "Good evening everyone."

I felt obliged to give a more formal greeting and made a proper bow. "Good evening."

All but the lady gave their regular greetings, but her gaze was fixed on me with an amused grin.

She turned to Kurebayashi and faked a hurt tone. "Kurebayashi-kun are you trying to break my heart, i still say you were the best pupil i had whenever asked you know."

He smiled and made his return. "I know you are only saying that to my face Uchida Sensei, but i still describe you when i get asked my ideal woman."

So they were close enough to tease each other that way, i didn't have that close of a relationship with any teacher at Sobu, but i was a young female so that was kind of expected.

"This is my friend Hiratsuka-san, i wanted to take her into a lecture tonight, if we aren't going to be a bother." He introduced me.

We were exchanging pleasantries with Uchida-san, when the old man from the middle table called out. "Kazu-kun long time no see, i keep telling you to drop by once a week at least."

That nickname made me blurt out a small laugh which caused Kurebayashi to give a sigh. "You will not stop calling me that no matter how much i beg you, will you Sensei and i cant keep coming here that often you know, work never ends."

"My my, Kazu-kun, i have been calling you that for almost six years now, it is hard to change an old mans habits you know." He replied cheerfully.

"You used to call me with my family name when i was an undergraduate though, i wonder how you made that transition so easily." He said almost mumbling.

He turned his smiling face to me. "Now do not dwell on unnecessary things Kazu-kun and introduce me to your lovely friend."

That caused me to blush a little but Kurebayashi replied with a defeated voice. "Hiratsuka-san this is Ogawa Sensei, but almost nobody calls him that here as he is kind of a top dog, so you can stick with Sensei, i have been in many of his lectures during my undergraduate years."

"It is a pleasure meeting you." I felt the urge to give a deep bow to the man who was apparently the top dog.

He nodded his head a few times and grabbed the papers he was looking at front the table. "Kazu-kun, handle these while i have a nice little chat with Hiratsuka-kun here."

He took the papers and moved towards the empty table with the pair of students following behind. "Hiratsuka-kun how come you two managed to get acquainted, you do not look like the kinds Kazu-kun usually has misfortune of socialising with."

I guessed i could consider that a compliment. "We were introduced by one of my former students at her family charity event, i suppose we were among the rare ones who didn't want to be there."

"Oh ho, so you are one of us Hiratsuka-kun, you are also an educator." He was visibly excited.

"I have been teaching Japanese Literature at Sobu High for the last five years." I answered with an awkward tone.

He formed a devilish grin hearing my answer and turned towards Kurebayashi. "Kazu-kun, you bring a girl here for the first time and she turns out to be a 'unicycle', are you by any chance trying to act rebellious my boy?"

Kurebayashi formed a big grin at the middle of his own conversation but didn't bother to answer the question.

Meanwhile i was baffled being called an irrelevant term. I looked at the old mans face expecting him to explain himself but he seemed to be content with giving me a wide smile while checking his wristwatch.

"Kazu-kun, the lecture starts in a few minutes, finish that fast if you want to attend and you are also welcome Hiratsuka-kun." He took his bag and hurried towards the door before i could give a bow.

Kurebayashi took a few more minutes before he was done with the pair. We left the room on our way towards the lecture hall and i waited a bit before asking what was old mans deal.

"Kurebayashi, why did the Sensei call me that?" I whispered.

That big grin returned to his face. "Well they have a habit here in foreign language related departments, you are given a nickname or more like a rank based on the number of languages you know including Japanese."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did he assume i only knew one language?"

This time his smile was strained. "No, they do not use 'unicycle' with that function."

I showed him an annoyed expression forcing him to stop delaying.

"There is a myth here, or more like an inside joke that Japanese majors are so obsessed with Japanese language, they are even worse than regular people when dealing with foreign languages." He finished and kept looking at me trying to measure my reaction.

I was actually amused at the situation. "I assume you expected that reaction when you decided to bring me here."

"Well yeah it was given, but it made it even more hilarious when he learned it from you, still i am surprised that you aren't even a little bit annoyed." His regular smile returned.

"Well at worst i can be considered a 'bicycle', and my obvious mastery of Japanese compared to you peasants should also count for something." I declared.

"I am a 'tricycle' so we are equals at your best and i wonder about the state of your current English, something tells me it might be a little rusty." He teased.

I ignored his accusations and asked the question in my mind. "What about the old man?"

"He doesn't have one." He answered with a serious tone.

"How come?" I asked again.

"Well that ranking goes up to seven and even half of that rarely sees a use, but Sensei knows seven languages not including Japanese, which makes him 'Oraculum Septilingue' , a title used in Renaissance Italy which means 'Oracle of Seven Languages'." He said all that with obvious admiration in his voice.

"Doesn't that reduce overall quality, i am having hard time picturing myself having the mastery over a few more languages the way i do with Japanese, let alone seven more." I worded my doubt.

"It would probably be the case with most people but with Sensei he has mastered more than half of them and he is well versed in rest, he wouldn't be called that if not. I wasn't exaggerating when i said he was the top dog but he is a man without any ambition so he is even doing lecturing for fun." He continued without the admiration leaving his voice.

I wondered if i would ever receive this much admiration from my own students one day. "And that makes him the cool guy here who everyone idolises."

He spoke as if he could read my mind. "I am sure there are some kids among yours that holds as much admiration towards you after seeing all that you have shown me."

"At least some day if not for today i hope." I replied wistfully.

* * *

The lecture we were going to attend was etymology apparently. We made our way to the back of the lecture hall and took our seats after hanging our coats.

Kurebayashi looked like he remembered something he forgot and asked me. "Hiratsuka-san will you be all right with the lecture, topic will be heavy about English and Sensei will speak English actually, i wasn't joking when i teased you about yours being rusty, i fear you might get bored."

"Weren't you supposed to think that beforehand Kurebayashi, but i will be fine, they do not simply hire an average person to teach at Sobu one year after her graduation, it should be enough even in my rusty state, i bet half these students here are in a worse situation." I declared.

He smiled ignoring my accusation "Certainly i remember some of them having hard time even in my forth year."

Lecture started and Sensei was talking with a fluent English expected from a man with a title as far as i could tell. He didn't even have the accent you would normally see. It was like listening to BBC.

I found out i wasn't overestimating myself when i realised i could understand most of it other than a few words here and there. There were even moments when he talked about some Japanese words which weren't new information for me.

One interesting point was when he was talking about false etymology, apparently English word 'Island' was originated from Middle English 'Iland' and Old English 'Igland' but during Late Middle Ages scholars added that silent 's' to make it look like it originated from Latin word 'Insula' out of their obsession with classical culture. What was more amusing though was that Old English 'Ig' actually shared common origins with Latin word 'aqua'.

Looking at Kurebayashi, you could tell he was familiar with the topic and his gaze was occasionally wandering among the students. So i didn't find it rude to ask him a question.

"Kurebayashi, why are you attending undergraduate classes instead of graduate ones?" I whispered.

"Well i do not need graduate classes too anyway as i already have my masters degree, but there is no night lectures for graduates. Besides i find these ones to be more useful." He whispered back.

What use could you find when you already have a freaking masters degree i thought to myself. It was almost like me watching the recordings of my own classes. In his defense the lecturer was miles ahead of him but still it felt kind of useless.

Well i didn't care as long as he was enjoying it and more importantly i myself found it intriguing to watch another educator doing his job, without realising i was analysing his methods.

In my experience from the times of being a student, university lecturers seemed to care a lot less about keeping the students attention compared to high school teachers. Especially the older ones, i remember having lecturers that would end the class without turning to face the students even once.

But it was obvious that the old man liked doing this job. And it was apparent that it wasn't only the topic that he liked but also the act of transferring that knowledge.

He was using interesting facts to keep attention when it was dispersing and he was giving precise looks when pockets of whispering would get too loud. I pondered over whether the old man would ever go on auto pilot or not. But there was no way he wouldn't do that after doing this job for over thirty years. I supposed it wasn't detectable when you turned it on.

It was over after about forty five minutes. I was expecting it to be a ninety minutes block so i wasn't even bored yet when it ended.

"Hiratsuka-san can you give me a few minutes with Sensei." He asked and went ahead after receiving my nod.

I grabbed our coats and put mine on before moving to the front. I could see Kurebayashi and Sensei talking probably over the lecture. There was curiosity on his expression and he looked unfettered. Then it downed on me.

Thinking about the way he was since we came here i understood that he wasn't searching for the place that he belonged. He had already found it, it was within his sight, yet it was out of his reach. I had to try hard to stop the pity that was forming from within. I thought he wouldn't want me to feel that way.

I wanted to have another test. I moved towards them and put my hand on his elbow, he didn't even notice it causing a little smile to form on my face.

The resistance i felt twice earlier was still there but only a speck of its former glory. The amount of willpower it took to ignore it was less than ignoring an invitation to a wedding.

* * *

We were walking back to the car, in comfortable silence, i was deep in thought wondering about what was shown to me, and why was it shown.

Only thing that came to my mind was that he wanted me to know that he also had a place that he could be happy. He probably wanted to ease my mind by showing this but all that it brought was a sense of pity.

I tried to imagine how it would feel like being only able to watch that place i held so dear from sidelines like a semi outsider. I didn't like it one bit, i thought i would break all the chains just to reach that place.

I started to wonder what was the special reason he liked this place so much. Was it the people that were here i thought, answer was no. That relaxation i could sense was coming from deep within him.

I remembered him saying he liked languages. Why did he like them so much i thought. What was that special reason that made him change so much when he was talking about them.

Only way to know was to ask, and so i did. "Kurebayashi you asked me a personal question before, can i also ask you one?"

"Sure Hiratsuka-san, go ahead with anything you want to know." I didn't miss the fact that his acceptance was unconditional unlike mine.

"What is it that makes you so fascinated with learning languages, i am not asking about pragmatic reasons like convenience. I want to know about what is it that makes it a passion for you." I made my demand.

He didn't answer immediately, when he finally spoke he looked like he was glad i asked that question. "Do you remember the times when were teenagers and our English teachers would say learning a language will change you forever"

I only gave a nod as i have heard a similar phrase from a number of teachers before.

He continued. "They were right but not in a way we understood back then. It doesn't actually change your normal self that much. What it does is, it creates an another you every time you learn a new language."

"Do you mean like a new personality when talking that language, i have read a few articles about that but i don't think i experienced it on my own." I asked with a curious voice.

"Well if you can write something without translating words in your mind, you can easily spot that it starts forming really early, but to be fully aware of it like an actual separate personality you have to be using it in different circumstances, even when thinking or dreaming." He answered.

"So is this the actual reason for your fascination?" I asked but i felt like there was something more.

"Only a part of it, what is more fascinating is, characteristics of that new personality depends on your reasoning for learning and the emotions you go through while learning it. My Mandarin self is extremely cynical and dejected for example." He sounded really regretful on that last sentence.

"Let me guess, your parents thought it would be useful and forced you." I said with annoyance.

"I might have eventually learned it you know, i might have even chosen it by myself even if they didn't say anything, but my twenty year old self was pretty mad at being forced." He gave a strained smile.

As expected from a guy who even laments choices he wouldn't take. "What about your English self?"

"Ah, you would like that fellow, he is really curious and unfettered. Choice of my major was one of my earliest rebellions so i was really a free spirit when i was mastering that." His mood was improved.

I was pretty sure i had a glimpse of that fellow a few minutes ago inside that lecture hall so i said with a smile. "Kurebayashi, i would like to have conversation with that guy some day."

" 'Sure, some day.' " He replied in English...

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone, thank you for reading the least liked chapter of And so, Hiratsuka Shizuka. Well i hope not but something tells me it will be that way. After all who am i to dare dedicating a whole chapter to an OC while people are dying to read about HYHY.**

 **But i think it needed to be done, there was no escaping that unless i were to cut him off the story (i can hear some of you saying why don't you) which would make it impossible to keep this as a Sensei focused story.**

 **Before i start rambling any more let me thank you for the reviews and i think i will need to answer some of them specifically this time.**

 **Let me start by saying that it is close to impossible to give you some of the scenes that you want without forcing Sensei into situations too conveniently. I think i have done that too much already, i cant have her eavesdrop on every conversation or run into someone every time she is out.**

 **As i said on my first AN i might leave some stuff without conclusion, i might skip some steps while reaching some conclusion as i got Hachiman and Yukino together without even thinking about Yukino's request. They are probably trying to solve that still for all i know.**

 **Well let me first answer the question about Yuigahama, one thing i can say is that you do not want me to write about Yuigahama at all. She is a character whose appeal is unknown to me and i can not think from her point of view half as much as i can with any other character. If i were to write about her heartbreak it would be as simple as her crying her heart out and coming back like nothing happened after toughening herself up. Yukino would probably feel sad but no guilt and Hachiman would blame himself into a short depression. You might even be satisfied with me turning this into a few paragraphs for all i know but i wouldn't want to make Sensei a part of that conversation.**

 **I will answer a few of he points worded by RalphZiggy now, first of all i think sisters hold a huge advantage when they are together depending on how far they are willing to go, as i don't think their parents could deal with a combined ultimatum, but you will see how they think about doing that in the next chapter.**

 **Hayama, well in a way i think Hayama is almost irrelevant to the story. The reason i think that is because even though i believe Hayama has a chance of fixing the way he is, he just barely started the process if he did at all. He is also trying to do it alone and sadly Sensei has no way of reaching him at the moment. I wonder if Watari Sensei would ever write about Hayama's university life, i think he really is an interesting character whose story of getting fixed could be as interesting as Hachiman's. The way he is now, i don't think either Yukino or Haruno will ever give him a moments thought.**

 **I haven't thought about whether Yukino would be dominant one or not, but i think she would claim to be the dominant one just out of competitiveness even when she would deliberately choose not to be like you said. Also you never know the way how a subtle guy like Hachiman would assert his dominance, i think there is a chance that he might do it the way he did manipulate Yukino into kissing in the last chapter. (Unexpectedly smooth guy!)**

 **Next chapter, well there is really high chance that it is going to be the last, i will probably have a flashback scene with Yukino so don't get surprised when the next chapter starts weird as i don't like the idea of writing flashback at the top of the text. Rest of it will be a mix of Haruno and OC. I think i will be able to show you a new side of Haruno that you will find amusing hopefully.**

 **Leave anything you want to say on reviews again and i will try to keep you satisfied.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

William "Bill" Huggins


	5. Chapter 5

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make any money publishing this story.

* * *

It was about a week before Christmas event, i was at teachers room thinking about the talk i had with Hikigaya on that bridge last night.

I was trying to judge whether i said what i needed to say and whether i said too much or not, at the same time wondering how he would act after all my advice.

I thought i gave him one too many clue when i bluntly stated that he did all he did for Yukinoshita's sake but when i thought about it with a clear mind, i decided he needed to be told that otherwise he was going to keep lying to himself using his mind uselessly to try and find a reason that didn't exist.

I wondered what he was going to do now that i gave him an answer that was probably going to make him ask himself right questions and the answer to my curiosity entered right that moment after a slight knock.

It was Yukinoshita, her eyes looked red probably from crying, prominent emotion that was apparent on her expression was bewilderment clearly shown from her widened eyes and slightly opened mouth.

I was ready to jump on the hate train for Hikigaya before i spotted that but knowing the way they are i understood that he didn't waste my efforts from last night, for better or for worse, that i had to discern now.

"You guys are unusually early today Yukinoshita." I wanted to give her a moment to realise my existence.

She waited a solid ten seconds looking at my face before getting a hold of herself. "Good evening Sensei, we-"

She went silent and kept looking at me as if she was trying to decide how to voice her mind, so i lit a cigarette and turned my head towards the separated room at the backside.

"Let us have a little chat Yukinoshita." I said calmly.

She followed behind without voicing an objection or an agreement. I pointed to the smaller couch commanding her to sit while taking up the wider one.

We sat there in silence close to a minute with me occupying the couch as if i were the queen of this room, one leg crossed over another, arms laying leisurely on the sides while taking quick puffs occasionally without removing my elbows off the couch.

I took one unusually deep breath and released the smoke back upwards while tilting my head backwards. "So Yukinoshita how is it going."

She looked like she was relaxed a bit as she managed to give a small smile before replying. "You look regrettably cool Sensei."

Tch, uncute brat i thought, reprimanding me for my smoking habit even when complimenting me.

"I am trying to look cool." I managed to give the answer i gave last night. "Now talk."

"Hikigaya-kun asked us to help with Christmas event." She replied eyes facing downwards.

"That is nothing unexpected Yukinoshita, that event was progressing so bad i was close to pulling the trigger on it, now tell me what put you in this state." I prodded her to get to the point.

She didn't answer immediately, after a few seconds of a contemplating look she answered with a barely audible voice. "He actually made a personal request, he said he wanted-"

"That will be enough Yukinoshita." It felt weird to stop her after pressuring her to talk so much.

She looked at my face in confusion as expected. But i didn't want her to let me into something important that was between them and from the way Yukinoshita looked, it was definitely important.

Asking for help with the event was the expected reaction i hoped at the least but for him to go ahead and make a personal request, now that was pretty low in the list at least for now.

I have given Hikigaya some clues and i probably got my reward. Well it was about time i gave Yukinoshita a few clues of her own.

"Yukinoshita, do you realise the significance of him making a personal request." I inquired.

"I am clueless to what to think about its contents Sensei, just add its significance to the list of things i have no clue about." She replied as she raised her hands to the sides.

"Did he ask anything directly from you before Yukinoshita, anything personal." I asked again.

She looked at me with wide eyes. "Twice he wanted the same thing, first i refused vehemently, second i refused jokingly."

Now i didn't expect that answer, it didn't matter that much but made me wonder what could it be that Hikigaya would ask twice. "People only make those sincere requests to their closest friends Yukinoshita."

That made her even more surprised if that was possible. "Sensei you wanted me to fix him and now he also wants something, but i don't know if i can fulfill those requests when i understand so little."

"Yukinoshita, think as if i never made that request, even think like he never made a request, now tell me what do you want to do." I asked with a sense of urgency in my voice.

Which made her reply almost instantly. "I want to help him, at the very least i want to be-"

She managed to stop herself mid sentence, she looked like even she herself was surprised at the words that came out of her mouth.

"You see Yukinoshita, we can only see our true selves at these moments, when we want something so selfishly that we cant stop our emotions from leaking." I explained to her with a sweet voice.

"Is it ever ok to be so selfish Sensei." She asked dejectedly.

I replied with a knowing smile. "Ah, almost paradoxically our most selfless acts are the results of that selfishness, the sacrifices we make for the sake of those we care about, we make those sacrifices because we cant live with not doing something for them when we have the means to do so. In the end we do it all to ease our conscience."

She looked at me with annoyed look like i said the most depressing things i could say which prompted me to continue. "Some people, like Hikigaya, see this as if even the most altruistic intentions are selfish in their origin, so it makes them disgusted with human nature, i know this because i have been there, felt full of bitterness just like he does."

"What made you change your mind Sensei." She asked in extreme attention.

"I didn't completely change my mind, but when i witnessed the smiles that were the result of that selfishness, i decided it wasn't such a bad thing even if it originated from self interest after all." I replied wistfully.

She sat in silence for a while but you could tell from the way she looked that she was still unsure. She almost looked frantic when she finally spoke again. "Sensei, i have never been this clueless before in my life, it appears like giving up is the rational thing to do but at the same time i have this urge that prods me to go on and give it a try and it is so strong that it made me accept something i had no idea about."

I got up from my seat, which prompted her also to do so. After moving a bit closer i held her shoulders before talking in an understanding voice. "Yukinoshita, life is not only about right now, it is not a shameful thing to run away when you are feeling like you have been trapped or you are being goaded into making a mistake-"

She was looking down at this point with a defeated expression but i gave her shoulders a squeeze which made her raise her head and face my eyes. I completed the rest of my sentence with a passionate voice.

"-but don't you ever dare trying to escape from a fight that you have a chance of winning."

The pair of blue eyes looking into mine appeared as if they have received a wake up call.

* * *

Sacrifice.

Two kinds pop into my mind whenever i thought about the word. The ones we do for our own benefit and the ones we do for the sake of others.

The former kind is the one i have been doing for years sadly, i have been sacrificing many chances of getting married to some decent guys for the sake of being true to myself.

Someone looking from outside would think i had a problem with finding decent men from the way i always complain about not being able to get married. Sadly that wasn't the case, hopeless romantic in me was just too idealistic to give up finding 'the one'.

I wondered if i was making a sacrifice this way, or on the contrary if i was refusing to make one, it didn't matter as i was just too stubborn to give up.

The latter kind is harder to grasp as i haven't been doing any of that kind on a large scale, just small ones here and there so i had to find examples from the people around me.

The first question that came to my mind when i thought about sacrifices that were made for the sake of others was whether genuine altruism existed or not.

My younger cynical self would claim it didn't without a doubt and she would immediately start spouting half baked examples and sophistry. She would not shut up about the selfishness of humanity.

What did my current self think? Well i didn't give shit about it, as long that self interest wasn't the main driving factor behind it, i was ready to commend any action that had good intentions and results.

Idea of self sacrifice for the sake of others of course almost instantly made me think about Haruno, the way she went so far without any apparent self interest made it look like genuine selflessness as close as it could get.

Why was i thinking about making sacrifices, well apparently i was going to have to sacrifice my first Sunday of the week long holiday before the start of the new term and it was definitely the latter kind.

I was driving my way to the Yukinoshita's apartment after getting a call from her earlier, from what i gathered during our short conversation, Haruno seemed to be in a weird mood that wasn't an emergency case so Yukinoshita didn't want to leave her alone when she was going out, she also didn't forget to mention that she thought it would be wise for me to have a chat with her sister.

I was starting to feel like i was running an actual counseling job so i mused with the idea of whether i made the wrong career choice or not, which made me laugh internally wondering how big of a part of the enjoyment i had from this job was actually about giving advice.

As i approached the building after parking the car, i was able to see a familiar figure of a boy who was dressed more decently than what i was accustomed to from the rare times i saw him outside his uniform.

His back was turned to me so i was able to get close without getting his attention, i grabbed his shoulder and spoke with a voice that was a bit louder than normal. "Hikigaya, looking sharper than usual aren't we."

That made him jump as expected, it took a while for the jump scare to go away. "Sensei we were fools to expect you to knock when you come to the clubroom weren't we."

I gave a cheeky answer. "Of course, doing things properly like that would reduce my charm, so you are waiting for Yukinoshita i assume."

He was still annoyed obviously. "Doing things like that will keep your marital status as it is now Sensei, and yeah i am waiting for her, we are going out for a bit."

I squeezed his shoulder tightly after that comment causing him to squirm a little. "Aren't you a bit too bold waiting here like that, you never know who could be watching."

He formed a strained smile. "Well it doesn't matter that much anymore, she actually spoke with her mother."

Now that was a big development, it was even surprising to see them meeting after that. "So how did it go?"

"Better than expected but still a little annoying, some sacrifices had to be made." He replied with a dejected tone.

"Like what?" I pressured.

"She is to live with her parents for her last year of high school." That didn't seem to be the reason that annoyed him.

I gave him a grin. "Well that is to be expected i guess, you never know when you would pop in to her apartment, what else?"

He blushed a bit after my comment. "She agreed to apply to the best university that would accept her, which will of course be Tokyo University."

That caused me to crack a laugh now realising what annoyed him the most. "Well old lady is clever but she is underestimating you two, i bet she assumed you would never be able to get in the same place, that is disappointing after all the clues i gave her."

His annoyance was more apparent after my words but he tried to pretend he had a way out. "Well i do not even have to get into the same place right, i could go to any place that accepts me in Tokyo."

I gave him a huge grin hearing that. "You know she would dump you in a heartbeat if you do that without giving your all right, i bet she already started thinking about how to make you get in."

"Yeah she would and she did." He replied without looking at my face.

"And you are not even one bit bothered by it in truth." I said smiling.

"Yeah, not one bit." He replied with embarrassment.

"I suppose i should thank her mother when i next get the chance as i wouldn't hope to make you try that hard even in my wildest dreams, or i wonder if Yukinoshita herself deserves that thanks actually." I talked as if i was talking to myself.

"Oi, do i not get any credit for deciding to try hard." He complained annoyedly.

Before i could chide him a voice that could be defined as both sweet and cold at the same time stole my words. "You only get to be praised when you actually try your best Hachiman, not when you only just decided to do that."

It was Yukinoshita who just came out of the building, she was sporting a pair of pigtails which almost made me burst out laughing, who thought Yukinoshita would go for cute appeal. And it was apparently working as Hikigaya melted the moment he laid eyes on her forming a huge smile.

I squeezed Hikigaya's shoulder once again and spoke in a low voice only he can hear. "You know i hate you guys right?"

He answered with a cheeky voice. "You still have time Sensei, it is still too far away for us, you can certainly marry before us."

That made me tighten my grip causing him to squirm in pain again.

When Yukinoshita made her way to us she bowed before me before talking. "Good afternoon Sensei, i do not know what crude words he uttered but i apologise, i am still working on his behaviour."

"Oi, aren't you supposed to be on my side, especially when your boyfriend is being physically assaulted." He complained.

Yukinoshita looked like she was enjoying every moment of this conversation. "Oh my, i do not know where you got that impression Hachiman, my main principle is absolute justice and being my boyfriend doesn't make you an exception."

You brats i thought, showing off half flirting and half bantering with those smiles on their faces, i knew how was i gonna punish them.

I formed the vilest grin i could. "He was just bragging about how you two were going to get married before i can Yukinoshita, nothing too serious."

Now we had two fine specimens of strawberry jelly on our hands, i was expecting embarrassment to be their ruling emotion but they looked more pleased than embarrassed, well i knew when i was defeated and i still had my fun.

After giving them a few seconds to cool off i asked. "Yukinoshita, what is going on with Haruno, you called me but you said it wasn't an emergency."

"Well i can not come up with any other word than weird even with this rich vocabulary of mine when describing Nee-san's current behaviour." She said while she looked like she was still thinking over it.

That was no surprise at all for her to not be able to discern the nature of Haruno's behaviour. "Well no offense but you have always been terrible at understanding human nature, so you might be missing out on some clues, so just tell me what she is doing."

It looked like her competitive nature was about to kick in but she managed to stop herself i suppose you could not argue against something you already admitted before. "Nee-san hadn't left the house since she came last Friday, that is more than two days of being shut in and she has been stuffing herself with sweets and alcohol constantly."

That sounded a lot like my days of depression and melancholy, which consisted almost every holiday i had to spend alone at home.

I decided it was time to go up."Now i am curious to see her that way, you two go have your fun kids, i don't know if i will still be here when you return Yukinoshita so see you next term both of you."

Yukinoshita had a strained smile when she replied. "I will be going to mothers after this so indeed see you next term Sensei."

"Good luck Sensei." Hikigaya also gave his farewell.

* * *

She barely spoke when i rang the bell, only words were who is it and come up, she didn't sound that depressed though.

I took the elevator up and found the door open, when i went inside Haruno was standing across, she was wearing green pajamas and she had bed hair.

She was holding a huge ice cream case and occasionally digging in with a tablespoon, from the look she gave me i could easily tell she wasn't depressed or melancholic.

What she was, was quite clear, she looked extremely bored and annoyed, at first i thought i should get mad for being called for something like this, but the hilarity of the way she looked took over and i just started laughing.

"Oi, why are you laughing." Her annoyance was increasing.

Between my laughs i could barely answer her. "The way you look right now, its just so uncharacteristic, you almost reminded me of Hikigaya, i bet this is what he looks like on his home alone days he calls blissful."

"Just shut up and grab yourself a spoon." She said before adding. "Oh, and a glass."

There was only one thing you would drink beside ice cream on a time like this and that was whiskey so i took a suitable glass along with a spoon and fallowed her inside to a room which was probably Yukinoshita's.

Inside the room there were a few boxes stacked on top of each other that appeared to be filled and as i guessed there was a bottle of whiskey and a glass standing on a small table near the bed.

I felt the urge to ask. "Why are you drinking here, isn't this your sisters room?"

There was the first smile she put on since i came. "Not anymore, welcome to my new apartment Shizuka-chan, cant you see i am celebrating."

I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that combo usually saved for big break ups or heartbreaks, what flavor is the ice cream by the way."

"Chocolate of course, is there any other kind, and i am doing this to make Yukino-chan feel better, acting this way makes her feel like she is the calm and collected one, i thought she would need that after losing her apartment." She replied with a smirk.

"So you are still doing things roundabout way, didn't you have the talk with her yet." I asked with an unimpressed voice.

"Oh yeah we did have our talk, before she broke the news to the mother, you should have seen how nice our little talk was." She replied with heavy sarcasm.

"How so, was she angry at you?" I wasn't sure why she would expect it to be another way.

"Tch, i wish, one moment i was talking about merits of teaming up with me and how i could make her life a lot easier and the next moment she runs at me giving me a hug she hasn't given since she was a nursery kid." She looked like she was getting more annoyed remembering it.

But all that did was to make me go into another laughing fit, it was not hard to imagine Haruno's frustration after how smooth it seemed to go unlike her expectations.

"Stop laughing Shizuka-chan, i don't remember having such a naive sister, i could still be messing with her you know." She tried to sound serious but it was obvious that she was holding her own laugh.

"I bet the thing that annoyed you most was the fact that you felt so unexpectedly happy after the way she acted." I smirked.

"Now i am starting to get annoyed by you too Shizuka-chan, i bet she called you because she was worried about me. That brat, thinking herself so cool just because she managed to get together with that boy, all of it thanks to our efforts." Now she was unable to hide her smirk.

"Oh yeah, i remember some of your so called efforts almost ruining all my hard work, i was sweating cold wondering about all the things you were putting in their heads when i wasn't around." I made my counter.

"Well i might have spouted some bullshit in one or two cases, but their purpose was to shock them into action, nothing malevolent." She made the classic tee hee move, sticking out her tongue and hitting her own head.

She stood in silent contemplation for a second and a shadow passed over her face before she continued. "I might have gone a bit too far on the day before Valentines though, when i went ahead and questioned whether she had a self in front of the other two."

I wasn't going to judge her for that but it really felt like a harsh thing to say. "Well it is obvious that you are or were wrong on that, she would easily be able to copy you had she been that way, i am sure you are aware it wasn't the actual ability she lacked but the willingness to agree with people when they were spouting bullshit, she is just too righteous for that, unlike you and me."

"Yeah, she never accepts the fact that she might be dealing with someone who is a hopeless case, she just tries to make her point rigorously" She said as she nodded her agreement.

Meanwhile we have been drinking and scooping ice cream as we sat on Yukinoshita's bed, i suppose it was Haruno's bed now. Yukinoshita probably expected me to get Haruno out of the way she was acting so i giggled imagining the way she would look at me if she saw me joining in on her.

That chuckle probably grabbed Haruno's attention. "Are you starting to randomly giggle after a single glass Shizuka-chan, i would have assumed you were made of sterner stuff."

"Brat, this is not something to brag about but don't forget the fact that i am an unhappy single, even half of that bottle would not have that much effect on me." I finished the rest of my second glass after that.

I made her pour another glass before asking. "So why have you been shut in inside for two days if you are so bored."

She gulped her glass before answering. "It is not that i am bored with staying at home Shizuka-chan, i actually like this kind of thing occasionally. I am more annoyed about the fact that i have to play attrition game with the mother especially after the bomb Yukino-chan dropped."

"I ran into them on my way here, i was surprised at how tame her reaction seemed to be compared to all the scenarios that ran through my mind." I admitted honestly.

She tilted her head sideways. "Well i would normally think as you do but probably the way i stood behind Yukino-chan made her think twice, she is playing the long game with that university demand."

"Don't miss the fact that she made her go back to home, she is probably trying to remind her what kind of world she is getting Hikigaya into, but i think she is underestimating them in both cases." I made my observation.

My words surprised her. "Mother has always been sly i suppose, she probably couldn't find a reason to object that wouldn't upset Yukino-chan, her first action would probably be calling him a pleb if she could get away with it."

"Really, it feels weird hearing her not being able to find a legitimate flaw about Hikigaya." I said sarcastically.

"Well, i know him enough to point out a bunch of flaws that mother would hungrily jump on but i wasn't going to deny the fact that he was good for Yukino-chan, so my words probably helped." She said bluntly. "It appears that she was also impressed by the way you talked about him on your small conversation during the event."

"Well i wasn't going to sell one of my favorite pupils short." I admitted.

"She even told Yukino-chan even though she doesn't exactly approve the situation, she should consider this as an opportunity to get acquainted with some of the qualities 'that boy' possessed, those she severely lacked according to you she said." She sported a grin while saying that.

"Well i am glad that my talk with her was useful for those two, i hope it will be useful for you too." I said wistfully.

"I have been making my own proddings but mother has reacted uncharacteristically to say the least, she has been showing a lot more patience than i expected." She commented with apparent disturbance.

"I might have made her put up her guard against you but that should make it less bloody even if it makes it take a bit more time." I admitted.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose so but still i do not have the intention of taking mother lightly, she knows she cant win a war by being defensive so she is definitely plotting something or at the very least trying to find something to plot with."

"You know there is only one way you can lose this right?" I reminded her.

She nodded knowingly. "Yeah, if it gets worse we can always give a combined ultimatum with Yukino-chan, no decent parent could stand in front of that, so her only real option is to try and get between us and i will not disregard the possibility that she could even be cold enough to try that."

"Just try to be more tolerant with each other, i know you two have a habit of driving each other mad with your behaviour but try to keep it down to reasonable levels." I advised.

"I know, i don't have a reason to be mad at her anymore anyway, you should have seen Yukino-chan with the mother though, i was half expecting her to break down but she just stuck on to her logical arguments, she wasn't even fazed much when she had to make some sacrifices." She said with an impressed voice.

"What did they get in return for those though, it must have been especially hard for her to give up this place." I asked with a sad tone.

"Well this place was probably a symbol for her, for her first attempt at trying to escape mothers clutches, but mother promised to never try to break them up in a malicious way and she also promised to not cut their time together too much as long as Yukino-chan fulfills her responsibilities. Well i am not complaining i get to test this place now." She ended cheerfully.

"What have you been doing by the way Haruno, you said you were prodding their reactions but what exactly have you been doing." I asked curiously.

"Well small annoying things for now, i have skipped some lectures, refused to attend one or two events and turned my cell off for extensive hours occasionally, i just tried to test their expectations but as i said before mother seems to have her guard up, she didn't even complain once yet, father on the other hand got mad a little bit it was actually funny to see him like that." She didn't seem to look impressed by their reactions.

Some words i have heard before came to my mind. "You know that guy, Kurebayashi, he said to me at the event that the greatest betrayals were the ones that were most unexpected."

"Well i don't know anyone else whose would be less expected than mine, i haven't been the model daughter for nothing all these years after all." She said nonchalantly.

"He also said they were the ones you worked with diligence over years." I said with worry in my voice.

"Well that is why i am willing to take it slow but i don't have the intention of letting it last for years, i have wasted too much time already Shizuka-chan, there are things i want to do, i want to break hearts and i want to be heartbroken, i want to experience all kinds if things that has been denied to me until now." Her voice had passion in it, it was rare to see Haruno show so much genuine emotion.

We have been going fast with the whiskey and what is left of the ice cream had already melted. We both could probably feel the effects of intoxication now but that didn't stop Haruno from bringing another bottle, drinking this much now caused our conversation to turn into less serious waters.

"Speaking of breaking hearts Shizuka-chan, don't think that i did miss the fact you dropped the honorific from his name." She said while grinning.

Well i was asking for it when i mentioned his name earlier so i was going to have to deal with her teasing but i didn't have the intention of pulling white flag from the beginning.

"You know i have never been good with honorifics, almost all teachers tend to use them but you have probably never seen me use one with a student." I was aware that this was a weak excuse.

"I will cut to the chase Shizuka-chan, i know you two sneaked out together from the event as our driver reported seeing you, and i know from Yukino-chan that he picked you up from the school once." She spilled out bluntly.

"You seem very well informed." I tried to delay with a defeated tone.

"Spill the beans Shizuka-chan, are you already dating him, i wont get mad i promise, that engagement thing was really far fetched nobody takes it that seriously, it had become a topic for joking even for our parents." I wasn't expecting Spanish Inquisition yet here it was.

We talked about Kurebayashi for a while, the more details she asked more annoyed i got. What could i say about someone i have been to four outings with anyway. Yet as the drink started to show its effects my tongue got looser. Soon enough i was sloshed and was answering anything she would ask without reservation.

Haruno wasn't in a better state so it was obvious in her speech. "I don't get it Shizuka-chaaan, i cant see any reason you two are not an item yet you knoooow."

The way she extended her last word reminded me of someone but i couldn't remember in this state. "Brat, i would have solved it if i knew what was holding me back, i seem to have my guard up unintentionally."

She made a huge grin. "Just jump him already Shizuka-chan, i would take you for the kind that goes for the deed first and asks questions later."

That hurt a bit. "Yeah look where it got me, getting shit faced with a brat like you, worry about yourself, i bet you don't even have half the experience you should have at your age."

Thanks being drunk, i didn't realise how mean my words were before they were out, thankfully Haruno seemed to take it well. "So mean Shizuka-chan, you know i almost dated a guy in high school."

That was unexpected. "Now you are bullshitting me."

"I am not kidding, it happened when i was the committee chairwoman, one of the heads of the departments, he actually asked my name, i was baffled by the fact that he didn't know my name." She had a smile that was filled with nostalgia.

"So what was it that grabbed your interest?" I asked.

"You know i acted like that usual bitch that thinks she is perfect and got mad when he approached me in a businesslike manner until i let him see a little behind that face, we went here and there a few times together after that but i bet you can guess the rest of the story." She ended with a strained smile.

An annoyed expression formed on my face. "Sometimes i am baffled how you can manage to deal with your family or the world they live in, mine are probably fine with any random guy i pick off the street at this point yet i still find them a heavy burden."

She looked as if a switch was turned on in her mind. "I might have understood your problem Shizuka-chan, so let me be the one who gives the advice this time, when the time comes and you are forced to make a decision, remember your own words."

I raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "What is with that vague clue, are you trying to mock me kiddo."

At this point we had almost managed to drain the second bottle so our hold on rationality was getting looser and looser.

Haruno suddenly grabbed my phone that was sitting near me on the bed and started pushing the buttons. "You have been so mean to me today Shizuka-chan, so we are calling him as punishment."

I wasn't gonna let her have her way that easily so i tackled her before she could make the call. "Give it back you brat, don't get your nose into my business."

It didn't take long for me to wrestle it back off her hands as i had a very obvious size advantage, i looked at her face angrily but the reason for my anger was probably not what she thought it to be.

Our faces were both red from being drunk and physical struggle, and our hairs were both tangled messes, we both went into an episode of giggling.

When we were done, i raised a finger above and made my proclamation bravely. "I shall be the one who makes the call!"

* * *

Suddenly i woke up, with a huge headache and dry throat, i was laying on a bed with the clothes i wore coming here and beside me was Haruno, still sleeping in her green pajamas.

I tried to remember last night and the last thing that i remembered was Haruno starting to ask me about Kurebayashi, i had no idea where conversation went after that.

I searched for my phone and found it laying under me, while i checked the time which was a little past eleven, i spotted that i had a mail and an unanswered call.

When i read the contents of the message, i started sweating cold. It was a short one that read as, "Hiratsuka-san i was occupied otherwise during your call, i have read the contents of your mails, from the way they were worded i think it will be at least tomorrow until you can reply to this so feel free to call me anytime you want tomorrow."

I quickly checked my outbox and was welcomed by eleven mails that were sent to him, i was too scared to read them so i went out of the room, took a deep breath and immediately called him back.

It didn't take long for him to answer after two beeps. "Good morning Hiratsuka-san, or is it afternoon now."

I was ready to be teased so i just spoke accepting it all. "It is certainly morning for me, good morning to you too Kurebayashi."

There was a silence for a while, it felt weird after calling him so i decided i was going to have to ask. "Let us cut to the chase Kurebayashi, i was too ashamed to read my own messages before calling you back so i hope i haven't said something horrible."

A slight chuckle could be heard from the phone. "Well you were mostly mad at me for not answering and you even found some creative names for me even some foreign ones like knobber, you must have researched hard before typing."

"Well it might be Haruno's influence or it might be specially researched for you, but anything else, i could deal with this much if that was all." I asked with hurry.

He waited a few seconds before answering. "Hmm, last two, you said you hated married couples at the first but corrected yourself by saying you hated all couples on the last one."

If that was all i would consider myself very lucky, i wonder if i wrote the last few mails while dozing off. "Kurebayashi i was scared i wouldn't be able to call you back if i read them before calling you, still i apologise, especially if i called you during an important meeting or something, i wonder how can i make it up to you."

"It is ok Hiratsuka-san, my phone was on silent so i saw them back when i got to my hotel room." He assured me.

That wasn't going to be enough to ease my mind. "Still it appears i even called you names and stuff, how about i take you out somewhere this time, i will plan the whole outing, you have been doing that last few times."

"Well i will not miss out on such an offer but i will be out of town until the next weekend so we gotta do it on next Sunday." He said cheerfully.

It was actually very convenient as i might have been too self conscious if he asked to meet tomorrow. "Sure thing, i will call you back early next Sunday, i apologise again for being so careless, see you later."

"Don't think too much over it Hiratsuka-san, happens to the best of us, see you later too." And he shut the call.

I went out to the balcony, grabbing a much needed cigarette after all that, i wondered about how close i got to messing up and considered myself extremely lucky that he wasn't able to pick up the call. I had no idea what i would say in this state let alone when who knows what i was like yesterday.

It appeared i was going to have to sacrifice my other Sunday too during this holiday, and it was definitely the former kind this time...

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone, this update took a lot longer sadly as i had a semi busy week at work and i also had to topple one of those mild depressions that comes with being a corporate slave.**

 **First of all, i decided to not make this last chapter as you could probably guess, i thought it would leave too many unknowns for the readers taste if i wrote what i considered to be the last chapter so i decided to delay that, so there will at least be one more chapter and i might even go for more in case some idea pops into my mind, i think i will try to focus thinking about Haruno as she is still the character that has potential for more stuff.**

 **I had to rewrite most of the flashback scene because i thought it didnt have the right emotional state for Yukino, at first it was too melancholic and she looked too scared and depressed, so i had to change it to look more like uncertainty, i didnt want to give the impression that she had negative emotions that time, i wanted to make it look like she was just having hard time grasping those new unknown emotions.**

 **This chapter i gave you what you wanted i hope, lots of Yukino and Haruno, and some insight into how they are dealing with stuff.**

 **I will keep AN short this time as i noticed i tend to write a wall of text, so again i am hoping for your reviews and as usual thank you all for the reviews and stuff.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


	6. Chapter 6

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make any Money publishing this story.

* * *

Regret.

There is a saying that saddest words in the world must be 'if only', it is indeed an emotion that was considered hard to deal with, even looked down upon by the winners of society, they would call it self indulgent and irrational looking at anyone that refused to deny that emotion with pitiful eyes telling them to let past stay where it is and move on.

I on the other hand considered anyone that choose to deny that regret to be pretending, they would close their eyes and plug their ears, thinking that feeling only signaled a weakness that was lingering from the past choices, but in truth any regret that was left on a rational mind would be signaling that something was wrong at that moment, after all wasn't the pain physical version of regret and anyone would accept that they were hurt when they received that signal from pain.

Some would argue that the only things you could regret were the choices you didn't make, in a way i could agree with that as the greatest regret i have ever felt in my life was of that kind, i still remember the times i wrote that love letter over and over yet couldn't find the courage to deliver, some nights i would still wonder how different my life would be if i ever found that courage back then.

But still i thought there were choices i was foolish enough to make that made me regret ever making them, hell even now as i was walking towards the front gate of the school from my car, i deeply regretted drinking myself to stupor two nights in a row.

Why did i do that? Well because i was a paranoid idiot who was seeing things that were not there, apparently Kurebayashi had a business emergency so we had to postpone our outing that was supposed to happen two days ago and i was still making a fuss over wondering the fact whether my chain of eleven mails had anything to do with that, i had no reason to not trust the guy but having scared a few guys away with that kind of excessive mailing before -i was sober at those times though- i couldn't help but be afraid whether that was the case again.

It was the second day of new school term and i was barely able to handle all the fuss of opening ceremony yesterday morning, i had in my mind to check whether Isshiki made a good opening speech or not but with my hangover and lack of sleep i was barely able to stay on my feet and totally neglected to actually listen to her, i had no idea whether she had any help writing that from the service club but i didn't receive any complaints so it was fine i guess.

As the front gate entered my vision i was able to see the familiar figure of Hikigaya standing there with a petite girl with relatively short hair waiting beside him, she was springing left and right like a metronome obviously barely able to contain her energy even this early in the morning.

The girl quickly spotted me and gave Hikigaya a soldiers salute and a pat on the back before skirting towards me in hurry, she arrived to my side without her huge smile leaving her face.

"Good morning my favorite new Sensei, kyaa i bet that won me a bunch of Komachi points, you gotta start piling them up early." She almost shrieked making my headache go worse.

I remembered seeing her among the first years yesterday but it went out of my mind considering the state i was in. "Good morning Koma- i mean good morning Hikigaya, you look cute in that uniform."

It was my principle to call students with their family names until they graduated, i remembered feeling weird calling Yukinoshita that way after being used to call Haruno for three years with the same family name, it was going to be harder this time but i guessed i could always add junior to hers when situation demanded it.

She looked surprised for a second to be called that way by me but she didn't question. "I would say you look as beautiful as ever Sensei but i must point out you look extremely tired, i suppose they are working you really hard being so young and all."

This one was sly, i could understand the rare moments of slyness Hikigaya displayed better now, i wasn't going to lie by saying that obvious flattery didn't make me feel a little better, she at least had the ability to read the mood unlike her dense brother.

I patted her head a little. "Well i cant go around spouting nonsense like to work is to lose so i got to pull my weight, is he waiting for Yukinoshita by the way."

"Yeah, can you believe it, here i was wondering if i was gonna regret going to the same school as my idiot onii-chan again, but he goes ahead and finds himself a girlfriend right before i got in and it is even Yukino-san, i bet i am gonna be famous the moment people find out." This girl was weird both complimenting and insulting him at the same time.

"Well shouldn't him being thrash be more useful for you, you know you could look even better in contrast being his sister and turning out the way you are." I questioned her approach.

She gasped when she heard my words. "Do you mean to say that i am going to be overshadowed by their relationship, if that is the case i cant help but agree with your assessment Sensei even though it is very low on Komachi points."

It was obvious that she was joking and she was really happy as that huge smile never left her face so i decided to play along. "You could always aim for the best of both cases you know, show them what your trashy onii-chan is capable of while claiming you could be even better than him."

She gave a cheeky smile before she spotted the incoming limo as it approached the school gate. "Here she comes Sensei, let us allow our eyes to have a little feast watching them."

Tch, i was the last person to watch high school couples get chummy but i could make an exception in their case, i could watch it in a way of admiring my own work. "I suppose so."

Yukinoshita got off the car after the driver opened the door for her, she looked as beautiful as ever, same adherence to the uniform regulations from top to bottom yet she lacked that piercing cold aura she used to have that would burn anyone that tried to get close.

They both looked embarrassed as they stood close to each other speaking in a low voice that wasn't audible from here, i wondered why they looked that way considering it had been more than a month since they started dating, then i understood that they were in a way about to announce whole school that they were dating.

After a few seconds Yukinoshita reluctantly grabbed the hem of his jacket as her cheeks got pinker and Hikigaya averted his eyes while they kept on with their conversation.

Apparently little ball of energy standing beside me couldn't stay silent anymore so she announced with another shriek that made me wince. "Kyaa, Yukino-san looks so cute when she is like that and onii-chan looks like he could die from embarrassment."

I nodded to her comment as the two turned towards the gate and started walking in, Yukinoshita's hand that was holding his jacket stood there for a little while longer until she apparently decided it was hard to walk that way so she instead put her hand on Hikigaya's elbow.

It didn't take long for the younger sibling to voice her dissatisfaction. "Ehhh, that is it? I was expecting more action, that was kind of anticlimactic."

I ruffled her hair. "Hard part is just starting, i hope they can get over this day without going mad at someone, let us go inside too, i want to see some reactions."

As we moved inside and followed them from a bit of a distance while they kept conversing with gentle smiles on their faces, heads were turning as they walked past other students most of them showing faces of extreme shock, some of them even started whispering to each other in voices that were too loud to be called whispering.

"Isn't that Yukinoshita-san, who is that guy with him."

"I have no idea, i don't think i have ever seen that guy before."

"Isn't that the creep that was so rude to chairwoman Sagami that made her cry during the cultural festival."

Most of the talk among the girls were this way, filled with either ignorance or malice. Boys on the other hand were gritting their teeth with apparent envy. To the credit of some of the Sobu students not too few of them were almost reactionless, they simply showed expressions that were saying they saw something unexpected before they kept on with whatever they were doing.

"I suddenly feel like denying being his sister this whole year, he must be kind of infamous considering some of the reactions." Younger Hikigaya commented.

"Well most of the girls are actually bitter about Yukinoshita, they always knew she was smarter than all of them and she was at the very least as cute as the cutest among them, now she went ahead and proved them she also had a better character showing her disregard for superficial attributes." I explained.

"Ehh, us girls, we can be so petty sometimes right." She said dejectedly.

"Indeed and that pettiness is not exclusive to the girls, people in general can be that way when they feel inferior, it is a good thing you are aware of that at this young age Hikigaya, but don't let it make you become a cynic like your brother." I said as i ruffled her head again.

She smiled at my words before faking an annoyed voice. "Uwah, it is my first real day at high school and i am already getting a glimpse of the infamous life lesson sessions from Hiratsuka Sensei."

I grabbed her head a bit rougher this time. "There is no doubt that you two are related, you may look different but you can apparently be as uncute as him at times, you know now that i almost managed to fix those two i might actually need a new project to work on, so don't hesitate coming at me with whatever problems you have, at the end of the day i will spot them even if you do not spill them yourself."

"Sensei, shouldn't you be more worried about yourself, you know getting married and-" She stopped herself short putting her hand on her mouth.

I gave her a dirty look. "You know it is times like this i wish society would be more accepting about equality so i could punch you like i do with your brother, i wonder how am i gonna handle two Hikigayas at the same time, this year better go fast."

We came to the point where Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were going to the separate directions for their respective classrooms so they stopped for a while as we closed the distance, after walking for a few feet we were close enough to hear them.

Yukinoshita put her hands on top of his before she said her parting words. "I will see you at the clubroom during the lunch break Hachiman, don't get too bothered by the attention, i am sure it will die down in a few days."

Hikigaya answered her with a smile while squeezing her hands tightly. "Yeah and you Yukino, don't let the conversations go too heated while trying to defend me, you know it is rarely worth the effort trying to change it once they made up their mind."

They started moving to the opposite directions while many people were still looking at them and whispering to each other without reservation.

"Well i still want to have a word with onii-chan before the classes start but i wanted to thank you Sensei for taking it upon yourself to fix my trashy onii-chan, i don't know what would i ever do if he couldn't find someone that i could dump all my responsibilities on one day, so i am really really grateful." She actually made a deep bow after saying her words which made be fluster a little bit.

"Don't mention it, now chop chop, don't be late to your first homeroom, you don't even know who will be your homeroom teacher." I practically shooed her away.

So it felt like this to be genuinely thanked i thought, it felt like i got rid of some of the cynicism that i had in me, Hikigaya was indeed lucky to have this little ball of energy as his sister, she could get rid of any melancholic moments with that cheerful attitude of hers.

I still had some time before the classes started so i made it to the teachers room and took a smoke, i was going to be the homeroom teacher of 3F this year as expected and i was ready to pull all the strings i could to keep Hikigaya there, thankfully i didn't need to as it sorted itself out.

Considering the state class would be today, i decided i could give up my habit of turning up to the classroom five minutes early for today as i thought it would be hard to keep everyones attention so i decided to give them a few extra minutes.

By the time i made it to the class, it was about two to three minutes past the ring bell, as expected class was drowned with pockets of whispers, everyone conversing within their respective groups, except for a few loners here and there.

Looking at Hikigaya, i expected him to have an annoyed expression considering all the unwanted attention, but the way he looked could be described as no other way but as disappointed, which made me wonder why.

I gave a more investigative look at the class and i was able to spot some new faces along with some missing. The first ones i identified as missing were the two guys from Hayama's group, Ooka and Yamato, another one was Sagami and finally i was able to deduce the reason for Hikigaya's disappointment, Totsuka was also missing.

A smile was about to form on my face so i turned around to the board and started writing without bothering to stop all the whispering, after a few minutes of waiting it appeared someone was finally able to gather up enough courage to question Hikigaya and it was no other than Tobe of course.

He asked with an excited voice, too loud to be called a whisper so i was clearly able to hear him. "Hikitani-kun my man, is it true, are you really dating Yukinoshita-san."

Hikigaya answered with a barely audible voice. "Yeah, it is true."

"Shiieeet dude, no i should call you master now, let me be your apprentice, teach me all your moves, maybe i can also get lucky with you know who." Hearing his passionate voice i could easily imagine him giving a full bow to Hikigaya.

"Idiot, you are too loud, i bet whole class could hear you." Hikigaya chided with his voice almost as loud as Tobe's now.

I turned around and cleared my throat which silenced the whole whispering, i looked around to check a few faces, Yuigahama kept giving awkward looks around which told me she was already informed long ago, her awkwardness was probably from all the unwanted attention Hikigaya was getting.

Looking at Hayama, he didn't seem any different than usual, still that polite smile on his face, first i wondered if he was that good of an actor but i remembered the time when the service club got the request about his career choice, i could easily tell he was distressed at that time and i could easily tell he was disturbed about the rumours between him and Yukinoshita, so i came to the conclusion that he either never aimed for her or at the very least he no longer aimed for her.

I could be wrong but it was highly unlikely, i was able to read past the master of facades called Haruno, so i had a bit of trust in my instincts, which made me feel a little relaxed, those two didn't need to deal with another love triangle.

It was time to take control so i gave a dirty look towards Hikigaya and talked with a stern voice. "All right people you had your little gossip session and i even gave you some extra time so it is time to handle the seating arrangements."

Seeing the look i gave Hikigaya gulped, probably aware of what i had in my mind, by the end of the class he looked neither annoyed nor disappointed, with Yuigahama sitting in front and Tobe behind, he looked absolutely dejected.

He was going to regret all the times he acted tactless towards me, whole year sitting between the only two people who would bother having meaningless conversations with him in the class.

* * *

I was just out from the last class of the day, walking towards the teachers room with dreams of having a nice little power nap, i absolutely needed that with the state i was in, i even considered leaving early without waiting for the club activities but decided against it as i didn't want to bother one my colleagues by making a last minute decision like that.

Constant babbling of the students that were either going to their respective clubs or leaving for their homes were getting on my nerves, i had to assert some serious self control to keep myself from blowing at one of them but some of them were talking about stuff that intrigued me.

"Did you hear about the lady that came with a limo, they say she asked for the headmasters room to some of the girls on PE class."

"Yeah, they say Sensei himself escorted her and did you hear her description?"

"Ice cold beauty with blue eyes and dark hair they say, you know who that means right."

"Yeah with the commotion that went on this morning, it is obvious she is here for that, she is probably-"

Shit, i didn't need to hear the rest as i quickened my pace changing my destination, i was frantic for a moment as if i needed to reach somewhere quickly, i was acting without thinking as the moments panic took over me.

Thankfully it wasn't too late as my reason made its return, there was no point in rushing to the headmasters room considering if she wanted to talk to me she would probably make her way to the obvious place or knowing her she might actually get me called to her presence, in any case i needed to keep my cool and act accordingly.

I returned towards my original destination while typing a quick mail with fast fingers, when i arrived i made my way back to the backroom and started consuming one cigarette after another in quick succession but it soon dawned on me that we would be talking inside here if we were to talk so i quickly spammed the room spray and went out back to my desk.

It was excruciating to wait without knowing whether she would come or not, my imagination was running wild wondering about the reason she would come, in the five years i have been teaching her daughters she had only come once during the first year of Haruno, she would handle anything necessary on the phone after that.

Yukinoshita herself would be here by now to grab the clubroom keys, i supposed she would have heard her mothers arrival by now, her old self might have ignored her but considering the way she is now, she might have actually ran straight to the headmasters room.

It took about another twenty minutes until finally a knock could be heard from the door, it was Yukinoshita-san escorted by headmasters assistant, a middle aged lady that was a bit on the chubby side, she seemed kind of terrified as she spoke with an unusually meek voice. "Hiratsuka Sensei, Yukinoshita-san here would like to have a word with you if you are available."

I only answered with a nod of my head while pointing my hand towards the backroom, Yukinoshita-san moved in without waiting for any word and made her way towards the backside with elegant steps.

I slid the door close after we both got in and she sat on the smaller couch without waiting for any instructions, this fearless woman was making her way to the heart of my den without any reservations, which was making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Probably seeing the horrified look on my face she formed a small smile and commented. "Good afternoon Hiratsuka-san, you don't need to look so reserved, i haven't come to bite and even my barking would probably be tame if it goes that far."

I gave a doubtful look. "Good afternoon Yukinoshita-san, i can hardly believe that being the case considering the recent events though."

"Why, i am just a concerned parent who is here to check up on the academic situation of her daughter." She defended herself without that smile leaving her face.

I was getting a little irritated. "Well you knew you would only be greeted by perfection so i don't see the point."

Her smile turned a little wicked. "But Hiratsuka-san, it was you who said she wasn't perfect after all, was i supposed to disregard your words."

Tch, this woman, i couldn't tell her to cut the crap and get to the point so i was going to have to play on her tune. "Yukinoshita-san it is not my words that you are disregarding but all the events that happened between our little talk, it has been almost two months since that and she went through some life changing experiences."

She gave a hearty laugh that did not suit her at all. "I suppose that is the way you are telling me to get to the point, but i really wanted to know how she was doing, it appears she was a lot more active compared to her first year, headmaster didn't neglect to inform me that she played a crucial part in many events that happened in the passing year."

I really wanted to go back to having verbal spars with the high school kids, it was really tiring to do that with this experienced version of Haruno, i could at least force Haruno to act emotionally, that wasn't an option in this case, she would turn my words around and make me say rash words.

I decided i had to stay in defensive until i could decipher her real aim. "Indeed she had a busy year with club being a lot more active and helping student council on the side."

She contemplated for a few seconds before speaking again. "I have been doing a lot thinking this past week Hiratsuka-san, to be exact i have been doing a lot of thinking since that event you also attended and i had to wrap my head around some revelations that has shown themselves to me gradually since then."

To think that there were also things she wasn't aware of surprised me in that moment, but i understood that i was holding her to a too high of a standard so i let her continue with a nod.

"I had to be blind to be unaware of the fact that Yukino was unhappy with the way things are and i thought the reason for her unhappiness was my assumed disinterest towards her, i thought she wanted me to hover over her the way i did with Haruno but she gave me some signals as if that was not the case." She looked at me after that as if expecting a comment.

"I think you are not exactly wrong, she must have felt like a spare part, but if i have to be honest with you, it was probably the fact that you were still too overbearing on her decisions while making her feel like a replacement that made her unhappy." I checked her reaction after that as i was making some big accusations despite trying to make them sound docile.

She didn't show any anger even if she felt any before she spoke again. "I suppose it has settled in my nature to expect obedience from anyone after lording over so many people all these years, it is hard to make even my daughter an exception to that especially considering Haruno never voiced any objection to my demands, well i probably missed a lot of clues regarding Haruno as well so she is another basket ready to be opened."

So she got all the clues Haruno was sending her way. "I assume you have become at least partially aware of Haruno's situation."

She gave a strained smile. "I don't know if you could even call it partially aware but i am aware of the fact that she has been testing our patience for a while, i might have caused a big fuss if i hadn't received your warning back then."

I was slowly realising how skewed her image in my mind was, i was expecting to deal with an irrational woman who wouldn't bulge from where she was standing, yet here she was, a mother who was stuck between the fact that she was causing unhappiness to her children and wondering whether what she was doing might be better for them in the long run.

A moment of silence reigned over us while i thought about her words, assuming my silence meant i didn't have anything to say she spoke again. "Unlike Yukino, i have always been aware of what i was doing to Haruno, it feels conceited to blame her but i got used to it after years of not receiving any complaint from her, i assumed she agreed with my plans for her."

Well i couldn't bring myself to blame her for that considering it took me years to decipher Haruno's reason and she was probably putting a much stronger guard against her mother. "I am sure she must have a reason to not voice her complaints."

She grinned after hearing that. "It is good to see that you are trying to stay on Haruno's side, but her reason became obvious after she stood behind Yukino so firmly while she was telling me about that unfortunate development last week."

Hikigaya my boy, sorry but apparently you are still not off the hook. "Your reaction to that appeared considerably mild compared to my expectations."

She raised an eyebrow to that. "Don't get the idea that i approve but my hands are tied for now aren't they, i cant do anything more without demonising myself in my daughters eyes any more than i already did, i did all i can do to put that doubt in their mind for now."

I gave a doubtful look. "And you think what you did has a chance to work?"

She showed me another grin. "You must be thinking i am underestimating them and you might even be right considering i am clueless about what they went through last year before things came to be the way they are but do not disregard my experience, i have witnessed many times the sad endings of this kind of couplings from the different parts of society, i will admit i even partially lived through that kind of thing, my own family had fallen from high position so i wasn't totally clueless yet it was still hard to keep it together."

I was slowly getting overwhelmed, on one side she was almost reading my mind and on the other she was displaying her experience that was vast compared to mine, to top it all she was actually acting humble knowing she made a mistake and she wasn't perfect, i almost felt inferior, almost, but moments like these were the ones you would need to stick with your ideals.

Hang in there Shizuka i thought. "In that case Yukinoshita-san, i will not think ill of your objections and the ways you choose display them, i will even go as far as thinking them to be useful as long as they have no malice in them."

I made my first dent as she showed a surprised expression. "And why would you consider them to be useful?"

I answered with a passionate voice. "You might be speaking from experience Yukinoshita-san but you are still making conjectures, i on the other hand have lived through the last year alongside them, i watched them as they thought, struggled, stumbled and worried, i gave them a helping hand when i thought they were overwhelmed."

She looked dumbfounded, i liked doing things this way, i was on my element being as blunt as i could without giving any ground to misunderstandings so i pressed on. "I have trust in them as i know how hard it was for both to move past their traumas and allow each other to get past the barriers they set up so the things you are doing now will keep them thinking, struggling, stumbling and worrying and as they keep living through these hardships again they will realise even more that what they have is genuine."

I let that out with only a single breath in the middle, i wasn't expecting to speak like that without any reservation, only thing that gave me enough courage to do that was the fact that she was the one who came to talk with me and she was the one who brought up this topic, i wondered if she intentionally pulled me to speak emotionally like that but the look on her face was saying otherwise, i was a little worried about talking this way to someone older than me who was also a parent of one of my students but that look on her face was a look of self consciousness.

Another silence descended upon the room and there was too much tension in the air for me to resist taking a smoke so i asked my guest. "Do you mind if i light a cigarette Yukinoshita-san, i could really use one now."

She finally smiled after that silence. "We are in your den Hiratsuka-san so don't mind me but those things will kill you at your young age."

I lit my lighter and took in a deep puff without giving head to her warning. "Yukinoshita-san, one thing boggles my mind though, we should be considered enemies as we kind of want opposite things for your daughters so why are you even talking these things with me."

I was still unused to her showing normal human emotions so the grin on her face still felt unfit. "Do you mean to say you do not want the happiness of my daughters Hiratsuka-san as i certainly want them to be happy."

So she could even act cheeky, the more you know..."So you are willing to admit what you want for them might not be what would make them happy."

"Well that was given when i admitted that i was aware of Haruno's unhappiness, she was following my instructions letter to letter after all." She stated bluntly.

I was still waiting for an answer to my question so i didn't have anything to say until she did.

She seemed to look as if she was contemplating what to say and she started with a sigh. "I will be honest with you Hiratsuka-san, the reason i am having this talk with you is because there is no one but you who is qualified to do that."

I raised an eyebrow as the first thing that popped to my mind was saying what about your husband.

She was probably able to guess the question in my mind. "You see, my husband is a very busy man, even busier than i usually am, so we tend to let him have a peaceful time during the rare opportunities he gets to spend with us, that is also probably why the girls have much better opinion of him."

"Still you are almost as busy as he is and you are also shouldering the responsibility of them." I commented.

She gave a strained smile. "I shouldn't be telling you this as it might turn you into a cynic at your age when deciding whether you are going to get married and have kids but i will say it."

I internally laughed at that, you are too late lady, i am already a cynic, i wouldn't be drinking myself to stupor last two nights if that wasn't the case.

She continued. "When as parents you are constantly occupied like we are, your precious offspring get raised by others, be it maids, teachers or even themselves, which is a very sad thing but it is the truth of the world we live in."

I could understand that in a way as i had working parents who were rarely home early so i was one of those who raised themselves. "It feels like a problem without a solution, you would feel like you are not doing the right thing whether you give them that time or not."

She gave an understanding nod. "I suppose the closest solution is to balance it as much as you can which i seemed to have failed to do so and that brings me to the real reason i am here, we were lucky Hiratsuka-san, thankfully we had you to help us at their most problematic years and i am grateful to you for that."

Damn woman where did that came from, i am turning into a tomato here, i had to give her a classic line. "Please i am just doing my job you don't have to go that far."

She smiled at my embarrassed face. "We should both accept that you have been doing a lot more than your position as a teacher entails Hiratsuka-san, you stopped me from forcing them, especially Haruno, to becoming what i wanted them to be instead of becoming what they want to be, that is the greatest regret one could have in life, keep that in mind."

So there was something even more regrettable than missed opportunities, at least according to her and i had no experience to dispute her on that.

I realised we were still skirting around the most important question, so i decided i was going to have to ask if i wanted to sate my curiosity. "What will you do about Haruno and her advances Yukinoshita-san, you must be aware that you cant win without being malicious at this point."

She gave another one of that earlier hearty laugh. "What do you take me for Hiratsuka-san, some kind of movie villain, what is my winning condition in your mind."

I realised i disregarded our conversation today when asking that question. "I am sorry, it is just hard to replace that image of yours i had in my mind after seeing the way your daughters react to you being mentioned all this time."

She looked dejected for a second. "Ouch, that hurts you know but you reap what you sow i suppose, one of the things that surprised me most was my ignorance about the way Haruno felt about this ordeal, i just assumed her to be the ambitious girl who was willing to go all the way for more gains."

And you wouldn't be too far from truth. "I wouldn't say that she isn't ambitious, they are both ambitious actually but they might have different drives for their ambition, Yukino is mostly obsessed with justice while Haruno, well it is hard to describe her but i think she wants to be surrounded by people who can exceed her expectations, she wants to be constantly surprised by them, i suppose boredom would be the way to crush Haruno's soul."

She guessed the meaning behind my words. "Which is why she has been so unhappy about the way things are, we kept forcing her to interact with generic, uninteresting people who were boring her to death."

I wondered if she had this much awareness all the time or she managed to realise it all in less than two months, former was unlikely, she kind of admitted that it wasn't the case, it was impressive to do this much self reflection in such a short time frame, most people would stick to their ideas and act stubborn. I was curious about what made her change this much and as if reading my mind she answered.

Her voice was reluctant. "You see Hiratsuka-san, i might have still acted stubborn and slammed my fist on the table causing a big uproar, but when i saw Yukino defending her actions with a calm demeanor and Haruno firmly standing beside her, among many other things like annoyance and worry, i realised i was feeling a little bit of pride for the way they stuck together, i hadn't witnessed something like that for years."

I wondered if i was being tricked or we just dodged so many bullets by sheer luck, if you could count a mothers compassion as luck, maybe we should have considered it as given long ago.

I suddenly felt like i acted a little rash today. "Yukinoshita-san my words today might have been a little rude towards you and i might have foiled some of your plans for your daughters lately even though i do not regret doing that one, so i apologise for that, i am glad that you do not despise me for meddling that much, at least i hope you do not."

She grinned after hearing that. "I was hoping you would speak your mind bluntly today and i might have goaded you into doing that a little so you need not worry, as for foiling my plans, well you did not foil anything yet, i will just have to accept the fact that i am going to have to make some compromises and god knows it was time for me to make some after demanding that so many times from them, as for your meddling, i have something in mind to pay you back a little."

Oi, don't scare me woman, i thought we were cool, with you thanking me out of no where and all, don't start acting like a movie villain now!

She continued before i could say anything, her voice had a teasing tone and the way she put a sadistic grin on made her physically resemble Haruno for the first time instead of her younger daughter. "I heard you have been acquainted with our Kurebayashi-kun, he had a meeting with my husband last Sunday, i have been informed that he seems to be talking very highly of you."

Kurebayashi i didn't take you for a tactless guy, what is with talking about me with a man who is supposed to be the father of your fiance, i was informed about the way it was almost at the level of a joke between parents at this point but still, well at least i was going to sleep better tonight as the source of my stupid paranoia was removed.

I had no intention of talking about this with Yukinoshita-san so i decided to raise the white flag. "You win Yukinoshita-san, maybe we should wrap this up as there are people waiting for us to come out probably."

She didn't let go without a one last jab, she tilted her head sideways and talked with a smile. "Was there any doubt to that outcome Hiratsuka-san, but i agree i think we tired each other enough for one day."

So Yukinoshita got her competitive nature from her, i couldn't judge who got the better of this exchange as she used an underhanded tactic at the end there, still given the fact that i was supposed to be an outsider while she was a mother who were defending her actions, she performed well above my expectations, i was ready to be reprimanded by my superiors at the end of this day when she first arrived and she was probably one of the few parents who had power to put at least a bit of hurt on me.

We walked outside the teachers room together and as expected Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were waiting for us there leaning on the wall, apparently getting my mail Haruno was also there but she seemed to have just arrived as she was panting being out of breath, i guessed it caused the same reaction it caused on me and she rushed here with all haste.

Seeing their worried faces i gave them a sneaky nod which caused Haruno to release a breath as if she was holding it last few seconds.

Yukinoshita-san walked towards them and spoke to her younger daughter. "Yukino, i wondered about how you were doing in school but it appears i didn't need to, i was told you have been doing even better than you did last year, which is baffling considering i though your performance was as good as one could get on your first year."

I could see Haruno barely able to hold her laugh at her mothers awkward attempt at giving praise, Yukinoshita on the other hand seemed to be surprised as she attempted to give a clumsy answer. "I s-suppose they were mentioning the s-social aspects of my school life mother."

Yukinoshita-san gave a nod and rewarded her with a small smile before fixing her eye on Hikigaya, it took a while before she spoke which probably felt like an hour for Hikigaya. "So you are Hikigaya-kun, i suppose i made a mistake by ignoring you first two times we ran into each other."

Hikigaya spoke unexpectedly brave considering the situation he was in. "I had an inkling that you didn't ignore me on that second time Yukinoshita-san."

At this point it was too much for Haruno so she blurted out a laughter as she leaned on the wall, Yukinoshita-san on the other hand turned her face to me giving me a look of understanding and she received a tilted head and an i told you so expression.

Yukinoshita-san turned her face back to Hikigaya and asked with a serious tone. "Do you have someone in your life Hikigaya-kun that you would want to protect no matter what?"

Hearing that Hikigaya's eyes darted towards Yukinoshita but before he could speak Yukinoshita-san interrupted. "I mean someone else, someone that i can reasonably be sure about your sincerity about that, as for me you are still someone who is trying to get close to my daughter and whose intentions i have no clue about."

Before Hikigaya could answer a pair of running footsteps could be heard along with a loud shriek. "Onii-chan i had a horrible first day, Komachi is so annoyed right now."

Hikigaya looked as if almost everything went out of his mind hearing that. "What is it, are you getting bullied already, tell me who it is."

Seeing his reaction Komachi gave a sneaky smile before puffing her cheeks and faking an annoyed look. "No onii-chan, it is worse, they keep asking me questions about you and Yukino-san, you two are totally overshadowing my debut, Komachi is annoyed and you lost a bunch of points."

That made Haruno go into a laughing fit and even i couldn't stop myself from forming a smile as the timing was just too good.

Komachi on the other hand finally becoming aware of the existence of extra company, one by one looked at the faces of Yukinoshitas coming to the realisation of what was going on.

She turned to the Yukinoshita-san with the sweetest of the smiles and introduced herself with a joyful voice. "Nice to meet you, i am Hikigaya Komachi, Yukino-san has been like a nee-san to me this past year so thank you for having such an awesome daughter."

Her ability to read the mood so fast and come up with the right words was godsend, this girl gave the impression of not being so bright compared to her brother but it made me wonder if she was actually putting an act to downplay herself.

She even managed to put a small smile on Yukinoshita-san's face who was probably trying to look extremely serious in front of Hikigaya.

She gave a small nod to Komachi before turning back to Hikigaya again. "I guess you do not need to answer my question after that, so let me get this straight Hikigaya-kun, think about what you would do to someone who dared to give your little sister here an heartbreak, and try to imagine what would happen to you if you were to do something like that to Yukino here."

There was that movie villain act again and she looked like she was expecting an actual answer here so Hikigaya gulped and answered with a timid voice. "A certain scenario involving a stone block, a rope and the Tokyo Bay pops into my mind."

She tilted her head sideways. "Hmm i don't usually like being seen in that light but i suppose it is better for you to feel that way, it certainly puts my mind at ease."

Haruno at this point had recovered from her earlier fit. "Don't scare him that much mother, he is going to be too soft on Yukino-chan, which is bad considering she needs someone to challenge her out of her stubbornness sometimes."

"I am told by Hiratsuka-san here that he has a capable mind and he gave me the impression of being a man of common sense, so he should be able to figure what is acceptable and what is not." She replied.

Yukinoshita spoke for the first time after her mother started to address Hikigaya. "Nee-san, mother, i didn't want to interject as i have already said everything i had to say before and i thought this would be a good chance for the mother to have a chat with Hachiman here, but please i think you are moving to the point of teasing him, even i am having a hard time understanding which of your words are serious."

Yukinoshita-san took a deep breath and gave a look towards Haruno before talking. "I guess i have already overstayed my welcome, what say you Haruno, would you want a ride to your apartment while you tell me about how it feels to live alone for the first time."

The look on Haruno told that she didn't miss her mothers intention so she put up a grin before answering in an exaggerated joyful voice. "I cant wait to tell you how nice it is to live alone mother but i should not talk about that in front of Yukino-chan, that would be cruel."

You just cant help but tease her Haruno, but she was useful in moments like these as she knew perfectly how to turn the mood into a non serious one.

Yukinoshita-san turned to her younger daughter after that. "You probably still have club activities to attend Yukino even though i stole a lot of your time, so i will see you back at home later."

She gave Hikigaya siblings each a quick nod and turned to face me. "I was serious when i told you what i thought about your involvement so i am hoping to have your assistance in the future be it as their teacher or as their friend."

I answered with a sincere tone. "I am glad i could be any help Yukinoshita-san and the door of my den as you call it is always open whenever you feel like you want to talk, i will admit i enjoyed our conversation even though it felt tiring at times."

She turned around and walked away with Haruno after a final farewell which caused all four us to release the breaths we have been holding the moment she was out the range she could hear us.

Komachi was the first one to speak. "Uwaah, it was like a bucket of boiling water was poured over my head the moment i realised what i stumbled into, i hope i didn't make anything that would make me lose my Komachi points."

Yukinoshita gave a small giggle hearing that. "Your timing couldn't have been better Komachi-san, you jumped right at the moment answering mothers question but i was impressed that your brother here didn't actually freeze being questioned by my mother."

"So you expected me to freeze, i am not trusted after all." Hikigaya commented dejectedly.

Yukinoshita smiled at that. "Don't get the wrong idea, for once i am actually complimenting you without sarcasm, considering i myself was freezing in front of mother not so long ago, it is a feat worthy of praise, you even managed to give impressive answers."

Hikigaya looked embarrassed after that and answered while clumsily fixing his hair with one hand. "Ah, i see, thank you i suppose."

Komachi gave another one of her shrieks after watching their display. "Ohho, do you see that Sensei, that is how you melt a mans heart, we should take notes as reference."

That didn't make my mood any better. "Let me give you a lesson Hikigaya junior, hard part is not to melt a mans heart especially when you are cute, hard part is stopping that slimy thing from crawling away from you, note this one if you are going to take notes."

Yukinoshita apparently intrigued by my words was talking to herself in a very low voice. "...stopping that slimy thing from crawling away, but every part of Hachiman is slimy, how am i supposed to stop him from doing that if it is hard to do that when only the heart is the slimy part..."

"Oi, aren't you taking her comment too seriously and aren't you being a little rude." Hikigaya complained.

Seeing their sad state Komachi rushed in for help. "You don't have to worry about my trashy onii-chan going anywhere Yukino-san, i bet you would have a hard time getting rid of him even if you wanted to at this point, you know it took me fifteen years to get rid if him."

"I am not sure if i should be happy about that or i should be worried about the way you put it." Yukinoshita commented as if she was talking to herself.

"Why is it that women always combine their powers when it comes to me, Sensei you are on my side right, i am not so bad right." He turned to me in desperation.

It was just too tempting to be the one giving the killing blow so i formed a wicked smile. "Sure Hikigaya, you are so good that i am not looking forward to the days when i can dump you on your sister and Yukinoshita so i can go back to the peaceful days of not having a problematic student."

He raised his hands above dramatically. "I give up, i am going to the club room, at least no one would be mean to me when i am alone there."

Yukinoshita raised her phone as an answer. "If you think you can be alone there if you go now, you would be wrong Hachiman as Yuigahama-san is apparently waiting for us to grab the club keys, i am sure you would quickly find a way to make her act mean towards you too."

I decided it was time to end this little episode of making fun of Hikigaya so i flung the club keys to Yukinoshita which she expertly caught. "I think it is time for you guys to get to your club activities, you barely have a bit more than an hour."

Komachi slapped her own forehead hearing that. "I was almost forgetting why i came here Sensei, here i am supposed to give this to you i think."

She was waving an A4 paper in front of me which in closer inspection looked like a request for joining service club. Her handwriting was all over the place but at least it wasn't written in all hiragana like Yuigahama's.

It didn't take long for Hikigaya to object. "Oi, no one told me you would be joining the club."

"That cost you some points onii-chan, Komachi told you she would want to join the club months ago, besides you don't have any authority here as long as Yukino-san and Sensei allows me to join." She looked at us expectantly after saying that.

Yukinoshita answered with a gentle voice. "I don't see why not, i am sure Yuigahama-san would also happy to see you join Komachi-san."

"Well you were going to need some new blood if you wanted to have this club keep existing after graduation, so it is a good thing that your sister is here to carry the flag." I gave my consent.

Komachi was delighted to hear our agreement so she put her paper on my hand before leaning in close to me to whisper. "You see Sensei, i also have an ulterior motive, if i can keep Yui-san company, these two can have a little more alone time."

I laughed at that while thinking everybody needs a Komachi of their own in life, i wondered how Hikigaya managed to turn out the way he did while living together with this girl.

Conversation kept going on every time i intended to put an end to it so i thought it was time to shoo them away. "Now this is enough talking you three, i want to leave early to catch up on the sleep i have lost so you can drop the keys yourself afterwards Yukinoshita, now get lost all of you."

Watching them walk away from behind, i wondered if Hikigaya would ever regret getting tangled up with this beehive of a family called Yukinoshitas and the answer was a definite no, which made me think about some things on my own side...

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone and it is over 9k! I might even be pushing 10k with this authors note, i hope it makes up for the fact that it took me two weeks to put this chapter up.**

 **I had stumbled into a some kind of block, it wasn't an authors block but i felt like i wasn't going to enjoy writing every time i thought about that for the first week but i thankfully managed to get over it and found myself enjoying after that.**

 **I will not lie as not getting any reviews probably had a part in it as well, i actually got a review after putting the chapter 5 but it was a review for chapter 4, it was accused to be a filler chapter and a useless one at that but i don't have an answer to that as i cant wrap my head around what is considered as filler and what is not.**

 **Well this chapter, i suppose biggest point is how i handled Yukimom's character, she is usually considered as a manipulative b****, and even i usually think of her that way but after rereading the story written by hslippery and how he made her live up to our expectations i wanted to try something different, i thought about the possibility that she might actually be a reasonable person who would be able to look at things from the opposite perspective if she was given enough information and time.**

 **Don't you agree with the Sensei that everyone needs a Komachi in their lives, i certainly think having someone like her is awesome as i have one in my life who is as awesome as Komachi, now all i need is to find someone like Sensei and i am all set for eternal happiness!**

 **I touched a little at Hayama and i really think his Y is not Yukino, it always gives me impression that he looks at Yukino with the same pity he looks at himself, in my mind he sees her like a comrade as they used to try and reach Haruno's level together and utterly failed for different reasons and i think he is frustrated that Yukino is slowly moving past all that jazz while he is still stuck at where he is.**

 **Next chapter, there is ninety-nine percent possibility that it will be the last one, i think and i hope i partially managed to resolve anything that wasn't related to Sensei at this point and it is time to resolve her point and wrap this thing up, there are already a few ideas that are popping in my head as next projects and they probably will be more like those alphabet series or random topic/conversation ones.**

 **Again i will ask you for your reviews and i hope this time i will get a few just to sate my vanity.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


	7. Chapter 7

Standart Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu and i do not make any money publishing this story

* * *

Doubt.

You know how they say, people would have deepest conversations with themselves during shower, they even have an expression for that in English called 'shower thoughts', i was having one of those as the hot water fell off my shoulders finding its way down towards the drain.

Most of its contents were filled with doubt after the realisation i had during the week, becoming aware of the reasoning of the reluctance i had for weeks that was gnawing at my thoughts.

The moments i felt full of doubt for pushing those two together kept making me feel like a piece of crap, how could i be in doubt about something that i considered my greatest achievement just a few weeks ago.

Even worse, that feeling was not traveling alone, along with it came its nasty accomplices; despair, self-loathing, foolishness and humiliation, it was like being surrounded by lesser creatures that had the power to overwhelm you when they come at you at the same time.

I shook my head trying to bury the thoughts, kept telling myself that i did all i did with genuine concern and there was no indication that they would ever regret it, yet doing that made my lack of self confidence more obvious.

If i thought what i pushed them into was good for them why was i so afraid of pushing myself to the same situation, why did i feel like i didn't have it in me to endure the possibility of having another heartbreak.

As i laid my forehead to the wall and let the water bounce off my back silent tears came off my eyes, i felt like i tried and failed too many times and i felt i had only one more try left in me, i was afraid of failing on that last try.

I moved out of the cabin and started brushing my hair, as the comb went through the tangled parts of my wet hair i reveled in the pain i felt at the roots of my scalp, i could move past the horrible feeling i had for doubting for pushing them together by constantly reassuring myself that they were good for each other.

But that seductive feeling of powerlessness i felt when i considered my own situation hindered me from forming rational thoughts to solve it and it forced itself to be kept as a doubt.

After blow drying my hair and brushing it a few times more i went out back to my bedroom and pressed the spacebar on the laptop standing on top of the bed, it was a habit of mine to listen to music while preparing to get outside yet today it wasn't one of the usual cheerful ones, melancholic sounds of the piano and violin together made my mood darken even more.

Opening the drawer an opened envelope with handwritten paper inside got into my vision, it was the one i have written and crumpled over and over so many years ago, i looked at it with nostalgia laughing internally at the fact that seventeen year old me could have such a feeling that i never experienced again after so many years.

I didn't keep it for the sake of the supposed recipient actually, the reason i kept it for so many years was to constantly remind myself that i had the capability to feel that kind of emotions.

I remembered running into him again after so many years and being soul crushingly disappointed by the fact that he grew up to be an absolute idiot, i wondered if he had always been such an idiot and my seventeen year old self was so blind to even realise it, i still had no idea.

My friends back then were mad at me for not even trying to hook up with my high school crush after having such a chance meeting, but half an hour of conversing was enough to realise it had no chance to work at that point.

They didn't understand that i needed someone to say they were fine with me the way i was, they had no idea how many years had it been since someone said something like that to me, they didn't know he was the only person who ever said something like that to me and there he was telling me to switch off my useless major while i still had the chance.

Before i realised i was putting on matching underwear, old habits die hard i thought, i felt like there was no possibility of it being useful being in the mood i was, it still felt like too much of an hassle to change it now so i let it be. I wondered if i was doing that deliberately and lying to myself but the answer was a big fat no.

I was told that it was a shame that people were so full of self-doubt and insecurities during their twenties considering they were the years one would be in their physically peak condition, and it made me wonder if i was behind on getting past my twenties just like i was behind on marriage game.

I wanted to act unconforming and take him to a high class restaurant today so i would normally wear a pretty dress but i had plans to take him somewhere else before that where wearing that kind of dress would be too eye catching so i settled on one of my business suits.

From top to bottom i wore black, the tie, vest, jacket, trousers and even my boots were going to be black but my shirt was pure white as if symbolising that little spark of hope i had to power through this dark mood i was in.

I gave myself one final look in the mirror after slamming the laptop close, silencing the slow tune, i looked as sharp as one could get but i had to do something about the expression on my face, i slapped both my cheeks telling myself get your shit together Shizuka.

Putting my feet outside, i was welcomed by an unexpected afternoon sunlight as if it was denying the weather broadcast that claimed this one to be a cloudy day, maybe it was signaling me that there was still possibility for me to have a bright day.

* * *

I would have preferred to use my own car considering i was the one who was planning this date, oh i called it a date without even thinking, but he insisted on using his own car so i made my way to the spot he was supposed to pick me up.

Calling this a date without even thinking made me realise i was mentally conditioned to make this one a conclusive one, i didn't have it in me anymore to keep this charade up, i internally promised myself i would decide it today whether i was going to go along with it or run away, even the idea of running away crossing my mind in the situation i was in made me feel disgusted but i couldn't help it.

I didn't want to bother him driving around the small streets getting to mine so i arranged this meeting spot not too far away for walking and the moment i arrived on the meeting spot a car within my sight turned its engine on and drove towards me.

It was a black BMW and it was using its turn signals, what a blasphemy, it was a model which was probably worth two thirds of my own trusty steed, when i realised it was him as he slowed down and drew near left side i wondered why he would come with a car like this one, i thought he probably didn't have a designated car without a driver so he must have picked the one that was available.

I decided i didn't want to expose the mood i was in too quickly but i was sure there was no way i was going to be able to hide it whole day, i was going to have to deal with it when the time came so i formed a smile as i got in and gave him a greeting. "Good afternoon Kurebayashi, i hope i didn't make you wait for too long."

He formed a smile which was obviously not a fake one unlike mine. "Good afternoon Hiratsuka-san, i am supposed to say i have just arrived to that question but i don't think we need that kind of deception, you were not late though i was just a bit early, i considered the possibility of not being able to find here too easily."

I smiled when i thought about him not being used to finding his own way with the car and the idea that he was worried about being late made me feel a little better. "Well you didn't need to worry having this GPS device here, what is with the unexpected car by the way."

I put in our destination with experienced fingers as he answered my question. "Ah, this is my own car actually."

I raised an eyebrow. "What does that even mean, 'your own car'"

He hit the signal handle down making me feel weird again and started driving while he answered. "It literally means what it is, i bought it myself, i use it in these rare opportunities when i go somewhere unrelated to my work."

That raised another question. "How does that even work anyway, i mean how do you getting paid even works considering you are the owners son and heir."

He gave a smile that i could only describe as sly. "Ah, normally i would get a percentage of company shares when i started working there and i would get paid from profits based on that percent but i opted for a regular wage like a CEO, but calling it that way makes us look bigger than we actually are, we are just a company doing work inside a single prefecture after all."

I knew him enough to not ask why so i asked the other question on my mind. "And what made you insist on using your car instead of mine?"

He gave a strained smile this time. "That was for your benefit actually, i didn't want to force you to drive me who knows where in case something work related comes up."

I lifted an eyebrow again. "So there is a possibility of you ditching me."

This time he looked dejected while answering. "Well it is unlikely unless someone falls off of a roof to his death but i will not lie by saying it hasn't happened before but i wanted to be prepared this time considering i had no idea where we would be going."

"Huh you really think things thoroughly, must be one hell of a hassle to experience something like that before." I commented.

He grimaced. "Yeah it was mentally taxing to talk with the relatives but i am extremely careful about providing safety equipment so legal action doesn't become a huge issue."

We drove a bit more before he questioned our program. "So where are you taking me today Hiratsuka-san."

I smirked while answering. "We are going to a high class restaurant for dinner, i wanted to act like 'the man' and take you out to a proper dinner, but we are going to spend the time before that with a friend of mine, i think you will like the place."

"So it is not only the literal pants you like wearing Hiratsuka-san." He teased.

"Well someone had to." That sounded a little harsher than it did inside my head but he didn't look fazed.

He looked unexpectedly amused. "Well i cant wait for you to take the lead the way you did when we went for ramen, i kind of missed that side of you."

I wondered if i had it in me to show that kind of me now, at least kids were probably going to take my mind off my worries for now, dinner was the one that worried me the most.

* * *

We arrived at our destination after half an hour of driving and moved into the eight story building making our way to the third floor by elevator, he didn't ask anything even though there wasn't any clue outside the building indicating what kind of place we arrived.

I was making my way through a familiar corridor when the door at the end of it opened and the little thing that came out of it ran at me full speed and almost knocked me to the ground despite its size.

Actually that little thing was a grown woman who was same age as mine, but one could easily mistake her for a middle school student especially with the way she liked to dress herself.

She talked as if screaming with that high pitched voice. "Shizuka-chan i missed you so much, you promised to visit more often last time."

I patted her head affectionately. "Sorry Yuuki, but you know how hard they make me work, it takes a lot of willpower to go out at weekends."

That was a lie. Even though she was one of the few people i genuinely considered to be my friend, i was getting annoyed every time she started talking about her family life so i was in a way partially avoiding her, once a month was more than enough, i didn't have it in me to listen to that every week.

"This is Kurebayashi, i would say he is my friend but that will probably not stop you from screaming internally so have fun with it." I said with a defeated tone before turning to Kurebayashi.

"Yuuki is my friend from the days of university, i suppose you can call her Yuuki-san, it is no longer her family name but i am too used to it and she never uses her given name, she teaches English here, it is a private course targeted at kids with high potential" I introduced her with a monotonous voice.

They exchanged greetings and i could see her judging Kurebayashi from top to bottom with intrigued eyes while he had an obviously forced but polite smile while that was going.

Apparently satisfied with all the gazing she had done Yuuki spoke excitedly. "Well i gave you the time for my best class and it is only their second week together so it should be fun using you while making them do something to get to know each other better, shall we go!"

We both answered with only nods and followed her lead but on the way she slowed down and patted me twice on the back sneakily, she was probably having too much fun at the moment.

We made our way into the classroom and were welcome by a group of twelve kids who seemed to be at the middle school age, Yuuki immediately started talking in English and the class seemed fine with it, i supposed it was thoughtful of her to match us with her best class as otherwise it might have been boring or it might have been pointless for my aim if too much Japanese were being thrown around.

"All right guys, these are my friends and they will be participating with you for this period, you can call them Hiratsuka-san and Kurebayashi-san." She pointed at us while saying our names.

Nice to meet you voices in English echoed the room as we both made small bows with smiles on our faces, they immediately started asking one question after another while we tried to answer without being overwhelmed.

When they realised Kurebayashi's lack of accent surprised voices echoed in the room, even Yuuki had a detectable accent despite many years of teaching, Kurebayashi wasn't as smooth as his Sensei, but still his voice could pass for a random guy in a foreign movie, maybe they should make him voice foreigners in anime i though, that would certainly get rid of complaints about Engrish.

Yuuki probably sensing our distress intervened. "Let us give them a little bit of breathing room okay, now that we have guests today, lets entertain them with something fun, we are going to play a game called two lies one truth, i will ask one of you to write two lies and a truth about yourselves on the board and a random person i choose will ask one question about a statement and try to guess if it is true, you win if the one that was true is the last one standing."

A cheer erupted, i guessed even bright kids like these liked to mess around once in a while and it was probably a fun game for middle schoolers, they were mature enough to mess around with statements that would receive a nice laugh, it would have been boring to play this game with younger kids.

Yuuki started by writing her own three statements.

'I am mad at Hiratsuka-san'

'I think Kurebayashi-san looks kind of cool'

'I acted rude towards someone today'

Uhh, it was too obvious so i wasn't surprised when almost all hands immediately got raised, she pointed at one of the girls.

She answered with an awkward smile. "I don't think i need to ask any questions , it is obvious that you cant be mad at your friend or act rude towards someone so your second statement is true."

Yuuki acted like she was disappointed and a pout formed on her face, but i was aware of the message she was sending on my way but i chose to ignore it for now.

A few kids got up to the board and had their statements questioned, they were braver than i expected, their statements were either embarrassing or self deprecating most of the time which helped everyone to have a little bit of laugh.

Yuuki looked like she was ready to stir some trouble so she asked Kurebayashi to write his own statements and he obliged her.

'I don't hate my job'

'I made out with someone today'

'I am not afraid of Hiratsuka-san'

Another easy one for me, after all he wasn't the one who was afraid, it looked like no one was willing to answer, i was about to answer myself when one of the boys leaned on and whispered in my ear. "Oi, lady, did you smooch him today."

I grinned at his boldness and answered with a wink. "No way."

He immediately raised his hand. "It is obvious that you are scared shitless from the lady here and she says she didn't kiss you so there is no way those two are true, you kind of look like a workaholic anyway."

Whole class went into a laughing fit after that except me, Kurebayashi unexpectedly admitted defeat and raised his hands to the sides. "You got me there pal, you didn't even need to ask a question."

I supposed he was humoring them, or he was satisfied with the message he was sending on my way, it would probably leave too much bitterness in these kids if he told the right answer.

A few more kids went up to the board and finally i was the only one left, so Yuuki turned her face to me and i raised myself up in defeat, you two were not the only ones who could send messages but unlike you i was going to get as obscure as i could get and i had no intention of playing by the rules, lets see if you get it.

'I don't hate people who get their nose into others business'

'I like persistent people'

'I like giving unsolicited advice'

I turned around to the class and Kurebayashi immediately raised his hand and spoke making my eyes go wide.

"All three, absolutely truth."

* * *

Yuuki was still pouting at me for ruining the mood while we were saying our farewells but i didn't let it bother me that much, she didn't have it in her to stay mad at someone for long.

Meanwhile i was kind of mad at Kurebayashi for turning my message around, i meant to break the game by giving three lies yet the way he claimed them to be truth with utmost confidence almost made me believe in it myself.

Maybe it was the reason i still haven't pulled the fuse on this thing, there was a hope within me that expected him to surprise me the way he always does, i was pathetically hoping him to get me out of this situation one way or another.

We were making our way to our next destination when he broke the silence. "You looked down today Hiratsuka-san, are you still worried about your mails."

"Not really, i did much worse than that before, they were pretty tame compared to the earlier ones, i just had a taxing conversation with Yukinoshita-san mid week, it drained all the energy from me." I gave him an excuse that was only a half truth.

He didn't look like he bought it but he didn't give any objection. "If you say so Hiratsuka-san."

We arrived to the restaurant i made reservations in and we were immediately guided to our table, it was actually a pretty high class place and someone with my income would normally feel like being robbed here but being the way i was i rarely had the opportunity to spend my earnings and they ended up piling in my bank account.

We gave our orders but refused the wine when offered, we still had to drive back and being the only one drinking would have felt weird, besides i already had plans in my head to bury myself in the bottle when i got back home.

"How are your kids doing Hiratsuka-san." He opened the conversation.

I could guess that he was trying to better my mood, and in a way it was working yet it was still bittersweet to think about them, i was able to convince myself what i did for them was good but they still reminded me of my own situation.

"They are moving on even while struggling with their mother." I replied.

We talked about Yukinoshita-san for a while, he was more surprised than i was when he heard about her behaviour, apparently he had a much worse opinion of her than i had, i wondered if it was because she reminded him of his own mother.

"It makes me wonder if i have been wasting my time all along, i wonder if i should have put my fist on the table like Haruno-san did." He said as if talking to himself.

"Well i lack the necessary knowledge to advise you on that." And i was no longer sure if i was the right person to go around distributing unsolicited advice.

It was the easy way out to talk about the other peoples problems to pass this evening so i gave in to the conversation letting it take its course wherever it led.

But the gods of the romantic comedy were not done with me yet, if you could even call this a romantic comedy anymore, it would be too depressive for that i supposed and useless thoughts about which gods were responsible for the situation i was about to be thrown into went past my mind.

An unknown couple who just got into the restaurant spotted Kurebayashi, looking at the dejected face that he formed one could easily tell he didn't like them one bit, even before exchanging greetings they had extra chairs pulled and invaded our table.

It was enough to have thirty seconds of chat with the women to realise she was a bimbo trophy wife, so i decided to turn on the auto pilot the way i do in the classes, i was sure i wasn't even going to remember their names or faces when we were done here.

So this was how it was supposed to be, the guy was talking endlessly about his job with apparent vainness while his partner was bombarding me with some bullshit which i was replying with generic lines, i had to hold back the growing nausea.

When it appeared that they were meaning to order and eat at our table Kurebayashi formed his first proper sentence since their arrival which woke me up from the state i was in as his voice had an obvious edge to it. "I am sorry but this was supposed to be a private date so can you please get to your own table."

He didn't look sorry at all, the guys face turned purple like an eggplant but his partner only gave a bored look, i wondered if i judged her wrong and the possibility of her being the devil who was leeching this guy dry came into my mind.

When they left for their own table i spoke with a dejected voice. "Sorry about that, i guess you could tell i wasn't going to be able to deal with that any longer."

His eyebrows formed a scowl hearing that. "Don't be an idiot Hiratsuka-san, i haven't seen such a rude behaviour in my life, i could hardly stop myself from punching him when they dared to order at our table, you don't have to change yourself to get along with that kind of vain idiot, you are perfectly fine the way you are."

This guy was just determined to put me through emotional roller coaster at every chance, every time i would witness something new about him that would get me dejected and every time he would manage to lift my spirit by his words.

I looked at him with widened eyes, what kind of coincidence was it for him to form the words i was thinking about just a few hours ago, my cheeks were probably red now and i replied with a barely audible voice. "T-thank you."

He smirked at the way i was right now. "Oh my, are you finally going dere on me Hiratsuka-san, i was close to resigning to the fact that i would never get past your cool side."

If we were talking about character arch types i could give him another one, i turned my head to the side and gave him a sidelong glance as if i was offended. "Don't get cocky you idiot."

We both had to contain the bursts of laugh that came after that, it would have made quite the scene in a place like this if we let out the laughs that was about to surmount us.

Now that my mood was in a comparably better state rest of the evening went with a lighthearted conversation, you could say i was having fun for the first time today, it was a great wonder what could a few words could do to ease ones doubts, or was it those specific words that held all that power i wondered.

We left the restaurant at first with the aim of calling it a day but i managed to shamelessly force him to accompany me for the booze shopping, my mood might have been better but i was still determined drink myself to sleep tonight, who cared about going to work with a hangover anyway.

While we were at it i decided i could handle my general shopping too, no need to waste this extra manpower i had for carrying stuff so we left the mall carrying two shopping bags each.

His phone rang when we got back to driving towards my home and he started to have a long conversation which appeared to be an unpleasant one judging from his expression and tone.

As the conversation went on that reluctance hit me with its full force again, so it didn't need physical contact to show its ugly rear, i had to try hard to stop unpleasant thoughts forming in my head.

It even got heated towards the end as he ended his last words with an ultimatum. "Handle it by tomorrow evening or do not have any hopes of getting any contracts in this prefecture ever again."

I didn't say any words as he kept giving occasional glances towards the phone once in a while, he gave a huge sigh before talking again. "Sorry about that, i hate that i have to play hardball even once in a while, i always feel like calling back and apologising after i do it, even when i know i am dealing with an idiot who probably deserves it."

I had to relax myself for the rest of the way if i didn't want this to ruin my mood again just when i was about to get a little cheerful, so i lowered the window and lit a cigarette without asking for a permission to smoke inside the car.

When we arrived at my house, his expression gave out the fact that he was surprised seeing i wasn't living in an apartment, i actually lived in an house that was suited for a family with two floors and a lawn.

I answered his unasked question. "It is a relatives house actually, he is a paranoid man who doesn't have it in him to rent it to a stranger so i am staying here for less than half the price.

He looked intrigued. "Looks homely, it gets depressing to live in either an apartment or a huge mansion sometimes, ever thought about actually buying it."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess i could get a bargain price for that too, who knows maybe someday, it would still be hard to pay for it alone."

We made our way to the door and dropped the shopping bags to the floor, i intended to exchange farewells before pulling out my keys but something in me made me stop and lean on the wall to the side of the door.

Before i knew it my mouth spoke on its own. "Is this where i am supposed to invite you for a coffee."

I expected him to show an amused face but what i got was a dead serious expression and voice. "Then why aren't you doing that Hiratsuka-san."

My eyes went wide when he put his left arm near my head to the wall and slowly leaned on, it felt like hours as he slowly approached my face and instead of earlier reluctance, a thousand objections formed in my head.

I didn't want a man who was probably going to hate his work for all his life.

I didn't want a man who was going to have to play hardball with people even though he hated doing that.

And most importantly i didn't want a man who was going to have to keep compromising for his families sake and get me tangled with that family.

I didn't want to dive into a relationship that had such a high chance of not working and leaving me with a heartbreak.

I hated the fact that i didn't even have enough courage as Hikigaya did, i was disgusted with myself for thinking he could only do that because he was young and naive.

At that point i was at the edge of making a decision, i turned my face down and held his chest with my left arm stopping his advance.

There was no disappointment or surprise in his voice, only wonder. "What is it that makes you hold back Hiratsuka-san, what are you afraid of, or do you just not find me agreeable."

I lowered my head even more and spoke with a cracking voice but the tears you would expect were not there. "I find you extremely agreeable Kurebayashi, it is just that you come as a package deal."

Now that i was sure tears i expected wouldn't come i raised my head to look at his face, still there was no disappointment, all his face told was he didn't understand, he looked like his brain was searching the right one among a thousand reasons.

Right when i was about to push him back with a final sigh, Haruno's words popped into my mind, remember your own words she said, and it downed on me as all the advice i have been handing out flashed through my mind.

I remembered telling Hikigaya that it was hard for the likes of us to find that person, even once in a lifetime occurrence.

I remembered telling Haruno to want everything to be the way she wanted it to be, to have the right kind of greed.

And i remembered telling Yukinoshita to never try to escape from a fight she had a chance of winning, there was no way this one was unwinnable.

I thought i could be crude, i could be rude, i could be possessive, i could be obsessive, i could even be envious but one thing i wasn't, was a coward.

And what was with thinking i only had one try in me, to hell with that, who was i becoming, Hikigaya from a year ago, i didn't know if it was going to work with this guy but i was going to try ten times more if it was going to take that long.

Without removing my gaze from his, i mustered all the force i could on my right arm and slapped myself with all that while also removing my left hand from his chest, it hurt like hell, apparently i had some strength in me.

A shocked expression appeared on his face at first and he looked like he was going to close the distance but he suddenly stopped, that shocked expression left its place to a look of realisation and before i knew he pulled himself back, sat on the ground and started laughing like a mad man.

"Oi, shut up, you are going to disturb the neighbours." But he just kept laughing as he kept beating his kneecaps with his fists.

I decided i wasn't going to be able to silence him so i opened the door and started carrying the shopping bags inside and lit up a cigarette after doing that in one go.

When i finished smoking half of his laughter gave its place to coughs but i was fed up with it. "Are you going to shut up and explain why you are laughing or shall i go inside and just shut the door on your face."

After a few more coughs he spoke while his speech was still being interrupted by occasional laughs. "I am sorry Hiratsuka-san, i am an idiot for not being direct with you but i didn't expect you to be this dense after all the clues i gave you."

Frustration slowly started to grow inside me and i asked with teeth gritting. "What are you blabbering about idiot, what clues."

He was still having hard time stopping his laughs so it took a while for him to reply. "What did you think i was going to do when i told you i had no intention of keeping up with meeting my families expectations."

What was i supposed to think about something so vague. "Who knows, a thousand possibilities crossed my mind, the best case scenario being taking over and changing fields and the worse case i thought you could embezzle some money and run off to a tropical island."

That made him go into an another laughing fit and it took him a while to get over it again. "I love the confidence you have in me but come on Hiratsuka-san, i praised you for your work so many times and i kept showing my dislike for my own, i told you i had an ambitious brother that i had an understanding with, i even thought i gave you too many clues at one point considering i wasn't sure if i wanted you to know it before you made a decision."

My eyes widened when the possibility popped into my mind. "You don't mean-"

He interrupted my words. "It took you long enough, i have even shown you my future workplace, i have even introduced you to the few people who were aware about this."

That earlier frustration was turning into anger at this point. "Why would you settle with only the clues Kurebayashi, why the hell could you not just tell it."

"I told you i didn't want you to be fully aware before you made a decision, you got over your reluctance without hearing this a few minutes ago didn't you, doing this was worth it just for that." He told all that with a serious tone but his laughter returned when he continued. "But it didn't even enter my wildest dreams that you would do it while being this clueless, that was commendable Hiratsuka-san, i don't know if i could deal with myself if i was in your situation."

"How was i supposed to know you would turn it all away with the back of your hand idiot." I shouted in frustration.

He sat there still laughing and coughing once in a while, it was worth it huh i thought, it was time to take the control of the situation and go for my payback, it was the only way to get over this anger.

I kicked him on the leg and spoke with a low but angry voice. "Get up."

He looked at me with reservation, probably trying to judge the scale of my anger, but i had no intention to give him time to think rationally.

This time i kicked him on the ribs and made sure it actually hurt, my voice was louder, almost screaming. "I said get up you damn fool."

This time he complied and got up to his feet, without waiting i grabbed him by his tie and slammed him back to the wall, i was past the point of being reserved so it was actually a nice impact which made him aware of the situation he was in.

I switched the force i was applying on his tie downwards and his knees gave consent by bending, allowing me to slide his feet forward and his back downwards, when his face was level with mine i went in for the attack.

I made sure that the kiss i was giving was neither too long nor too short, i was aiming to be as cruel as i can get by stopping it prematurely, when i pulled back i realised i managed to get my aim seeing the shocked expression on his face mixed with disappointment.

With a ridiculing voice and a look of superiority i teased. "That is how you do it Kurebayashi, you still have a lot to learn, now get off my lawn i have an early day tomorrow."

I moved inside the house and turned around waiting for him to leave but he was still standing there leaning on the wall, knees still bent almost to a sitting position and eyes still open wide.

"Shoo." I shouted as if he was a cat.

He looked like his body at least was finally back in his control but his eyes were still open wide, he turned around and started to move down the few stairs like a dead man.

But at that moment all the stress and anger within me gave its place to relief, things did not only turn out favorable for me, i was also able to reign over all my doubts before it turned that way so i decided to show a little bit mercy and also send him away with relief.

"Kurebayashi." I called out to him with a stern voice which made him turn around almost instantly at the second step.

I mustered the sweetest smile and the sweetest voice i could and waved my hand in front of me awkwardly. "See you later."

His eyes went even wider in that instant and he gasped in as if it was the last breath he would ever take.

I slammed the door close and made a little fist pump.

Behind those bespectacled eyes, i could see something had taken a hold of his heart...

* * *

 **AN: Hello everyone, here we are at the end of the journey, my tale ends here and i wanted to have a fairy tale like ending, not like the ones we read to the kids but the real ones where towards the ending hero is full of doubt and everything looks grim but by some miracle that has been planted before everything ends up ok unexpectedly.**

 **It was hard writing this chapter, i wanted to show a depressive Sensei while she was full of self doubt even doubting her old choices, i thought how could i write Sensei that way when i have been writing her as a rational women full of confidence all this time, and i said why not become depressed yourself and write that way.**

 **I tried hard to get into a self induced depression, i don't know if i managed to do that or even if it is clinically possible to actually do that but i am sure i was at the very least stressed considering writing fiction is a lonely thing full of self doubt.**

 **I thought about not sailing this ship but i didn't have it in me to leave Sensei unhappy, it is past time someone took him guys, it might as well be anyone if we cant be the ones doing that, i think i made a compromise by leaving her in a state where she was ready to have another go if this one didn't work in the end, i hope volume 12 arrives soon (if it ever does) and somehow gives her a happy ending she deserves.**

 **I had a few fictional characters i have been about this much fascinated with before but they have always been the main characters in their story, for Sensei to make me feel this way as a side character who doesn't even have her own PoV speaks volumes about her, every time i read the chapter she had the talk with Hikigaya on that bridge or watch that part of the episode eight i get the goose bumps.**

 **I hope i managed to put out something good with this story, it was certainly a great ride for me to try and come up with different ideas each chapter, one thing i learned was to not trust too much on my memory, i remember someone mentioning holding a spreadsheet while writing fiction, i think i should have gone with that so i might not have missed some ideas that only resurfaced after posting my chapters.**

 **If you are still reading this thank you for sticking till the end, i know this is becoming one hell of a long AN but i never liked the farewells so i feel like i will be extremely sad when i put the last word for this, jokes aside i would still not mind receiving reviews from you and answering any questions you have as much as i can, lately it has come to my attention that there were authors here who would answer every review they get with a pm so i thought considering the amount of reviews i get it shouldn't be too much of a hassle and decided to give it a shot as long as it is a review that deserves a reply.**

 **For the last time, thank you for reading.**

 **William "Bill" Huggins**


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